Black Bond
by Centaurprincess
Summary: An eight-year old Harry Potter comes across Acquila Black, a girl at his school, only to realise that he shares a strange connection with her. And when Sirius Blacks escapes Azkaban, how will he help his Godson and daughter in defeating the darkest wizard of all times?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is the first ever fan-fiction I'm writing...we're writing rather, since I write this with a friend of mine. And we're quite nervous about how our writing is going to be received. So please review and we hope you like it. :)

**Disclaimer: **I neither own the Harry Potter universe nor the characters. Except for Athena and Acquila, the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**Chapter 1: Dark dawn**

Athena McKinnon Black smiled fondly at the scene before her. Her husband- who had somehow managed to convince Mad-Eye Moody to give him the day off work- was tickling the tiny spitting female version of him, who lay giggling on the bed.

"Daddy!" Acquila squealed in delight, her tiny rose-bud mouth opened as she laughed; her tiny white front teeth peeking out in an adorable way.

"Sirius!" said Athena finally. "Stop tickling her, darling!" said Athena, "She'll throw up the food she ate! It took me an entire hour to feed her!"

"She won't throw up, Athena," Sirius replied as he rolled his eyes. "She's _my_ girl! And her digestive system can definitely handle a bit of tickling! Remember that day in fifth year after the Quidditch match? James and Remus tickled me just after I had eaten 'almost half of the food laid out on the entire Gryffindor table', as you had eloquently described it. And I didn't throw up at all; despite them tickling me for an entire five minutes"

"But Sirius," said Athena a tad exasperatedly, "Acquila is just fifteen months old, not fifteen years old as you were in fifth year!"

But Sirius was too engrossed in staring lovingly at his giggling daughter to pay heed to his wife. Athena grumbled something about stubborn husbands under her breath, but she smiled fondly a moment later.

She looked at her husband and her daughter, both of whom were laughing. She chuckled as Sirius finally stopped ticking Acquila, and the toddler tugged at a strand of her father's shoulder-length hair, her grey eyes staring inquisitively at her father's eyes.

"Daddy! Me luv Daddy!" said Acquila in her sweet childish voice.

"Oh, sweetheart! Daddy loves you too! You're Daddy's little princess, aren't you?" Sirius cooed as he picked up Acquila and started to tell her a tale from the book of Muggle fairy-tales which Lily had given Acquila on her first birthday.

Athena smiled as Sirius relayed the story to Acquila and the little girl stared at the pictures in the story-book curiously.

Athena remembered what Sirius had said just a few days before Acquila was born.

"Athena! I want our daughter to look just like you! Auburn hair, blue eyes! Just as beautiful as you are!" And Athena had responded saying, "No! I want her to have eyes just like yours, Sirius! Grey eyes, black hair and a mischievous smile!"

And somehow, her wish had come true. Her daughter was a younger, albeit a delicate feminine version of Sirius. The same grey eyes- which belonged to not only Sirius, but also his estranged brother, Regulus- graced Acquila's chubby face. She also had black hair, and though her chubby cheeks rather masked the actual shape of her jaw, Athena was sure that Acquila would grow up to possess the classic Black jaw which graced the faces of Sirius' female cousins.

Acquila had inherited almost none of Athena's looks, much to Sirius' chagrin; though he always said that he hoped Acquila possessed Athena's intelligence and her calm demeanor. Sirius always said that Athena was a perfect foil to Sirius' recklessness and care-free attitude, which is why he fell for her in their fourth year. She brought to his life a sense of completeness which he always lacked. And Athena had given Sirius the one thing he had always wanted- unconditional love- something he had yearned for since he was a child who had been ignored by his father, Orion and ill-treated by his mother, Walburga.

Athena walked to their bedroom, her thoughts meandering towards their days at Hogwarts when suddenly she heard Acquila crying.

She rushed out to see what the matter was.

"Acquila! Stop crying, love! What's wrong?" Sirius was trying to console the child, not knowing how to stop her wails.

"What happened, sweetheart?" asked Athena as she picked up the wailing child.

"Hally! Mamma, want Hally!" cried Acquila

"We can't meet him now, darling. We'll go meet Harry next week. And Daddy is going to take you to Dora's house! For trick and treat! Don't you want to go?" Athena tried to distract her daughter.

"No, Mamma! No Dola! Want Hally! Pl…plongs! Lily! Halllyyy!" Acquila's cries grew even louder as fat droplets of tears trickled down her chubby cheeks.

"Sirius, I think something is really wrong! The last time she cried for Harry, he had fallen off his broom-stick and hurt his arm! And now she's mentioning Lily and James too," said Athena in between the child's cries.

"Athena…do you…do you think Voldemort got hold of Peter? There is no way anything can happen to Prongs unless…" Sirius faltered in mid-sentence, fear gripping him. The mere thought of anything untoward happening to his friends sent shivers down his spine.

"Merlin! I need to go to Godric's Hollow immediately and see if they are fine. I'll visit Peter first! You stay here with Acquila. Re-check the wards again…and I don't want you to leave the house, no matter what happens," he told her firmly, as he put on his cloak and started to leave.

"I'll come with you, Sirius…we can leave Acquila at Andromeda's place…what if…I want to ensure that Lily's fine…I'll come with-"

"No, love. Just listen to me. Please. Stay here with Acquila…I'll go check on Jamie and Lily…and remember what I said. Don't leave the house," he told her, his tone making it clear that he merited no protest.

"But-" she started, but her words ceased as Sirius moved towards her quickly, capturing her lips in a searing kiss, as he raked his fingers through her hair.

"Take care, Sirius…and let me know whether they are fine…and I love you," she said, as she reluctantly let go of her husband.

"I love you too, sweetheart," he whispered, but Athena could see that his mind was already elsewhere.

"Take care of her," he said as he kissed the top of Acquila's head, while wiping the trail of tears off her face; before he smiled slightly at Athena and departed.

**xxx**

Minutes later, as Sirius exited Peter's hideout, his terror knew no bounds. Peter was nowhere at his hiding place. And there seemed to be no signs of a scuffle, nor traces of any dark magic. And Peter had been give clear instructions to never leave his hideout; which meant only one thing. Peter was the spy! Peter sold Lily and James to Voldemort!

"Damn you, Wormtail!" spat Sirius, his entire frame shaking due to an equal mixture of fear and rage.

A few minutes later, as Sirius got off his motorbike, he gaped the sight that met his eyes- James' house at Godric's Hollow partly destroyed and burnt black. He knew what to expect within the house, but he kept hoping against all hope that the Potters were unhurt.

He trudged through the rubble in the room, his skin tingling at all the dark magic that seemed to dwell in the very air within the destroyed house; before he let out a gut-wrenching wail.

"JAMIE!"

He fell onto his knees, beside James' body which lay awkwardly at the bottom of the staircase; his glasses askew and his hazel eyes staring into nothingness.

"Wake up! You can't die! You can't die, Prongs! Wake up!" he shook James' lifeless body, and James' glasses rattled and finally slid down his nose.

"JAMES!" he screamed again, cradling his body to his chest. "What will I do without you, Jamie? You can't die…you can't…" he sobbed, mourning the loss of a man who, he loved like a brother.

The thought of Lily and Harry brought an abrupt end to his tears. He let go of James' lifeless form, before placing his glasses properly onto his lifeless face; and after one last look at his best friend, Sirius rushed up to Harry's room; when his highly sensitive ears caught the sound of someone sniffling, and he sighed in relief.

Someone was alive!

He rushed into the room, only to find Lily's pale form lying on the carpet in front of Harry's crib and the pain overtook the momentary relief he had felt.

"Lily! Lily!" he cried, rushing to the side of the girl who had been like a sister to him; but he knew that she had perished too, and he remembered her words.

_"I'd rather die protecting James and Harry than live without them, Sirius."_

And Lily Evans-Potter had kept her word, as she always had. Sirius pressed a kiss onto her pale, cold cheek; oblivious to his tears that fell onto the carpet; before rushing to Harry's crib.

"Pa'foot!" Harry smiled as his sniffling ceased, and he held out his hands, wanting his Godfather to lift him up.

Sirius picked Harry from the crib, "Don't worry, Harry," he said softly. "Padfoot won't let anything happen to you," he whispered, inwardly wondered how Harry had survived when neither Lily nor James did.

He gasped suddenly on seeing the trickle of dried blood on Harry's forehead. When he brushed aside Harry's messy hair, he let out an exclamation of astonishment on seeing the lightening-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.

He touched it gingerly, only to have Harry letting out a wail of pain.

"I'm sorry, kiddo. I'll take you home to Athena and then she'll get you all healed up," he said, while he performed a charm to heal the scar as best as he could, before walking away towards the door with the child.

"Mamma!" shrieked Harry suddenly, as he spotted Lily's body lying on the carpet; and he struggled against Sirius' firm hold on him, attempting to go towards Lily.

"Pa'foot! Want Mamma!" he cried, his shouts sending a fresh thrust of pain through Sirius' heart.

"Mamma is…Mamma loves you a lot, Harry…but…but you can't talk to her now…we've got to go now…" he whispered, not knowing how to tell the fifteen-month old toddler that he would never see his mother again.

"No! No! Want Mamma! Want Daddy!" Harry's loud cries permeated through the eerie silence, as they passed by James' body lying at the foot of the staircase.

Sirius stepped out of the destroyed house, anger and grief coursing through his veins.

He was going to kill that traitorous rodent! Who would have thought that poor little Peter Pettigrew would have had the courage to not only betray his friends, but also become a follower of Voldemort, whom even Death-Eaters like Lucius Malfoy feared.

He was going to hunt down the rat and kill him, even if he had to go to the very ends of the world to find that bastard!

He decided to first drop off Harry with Athena so that he would be safe, and then track down Peter and kill him for not only betraying them all, but for being responsible for Harry being an orphan.

Harry was still crying, though his wails were now rather subdued. He yawned loudly, and Sirius was sure that the child would fall asleep in a few minutes. He held on to Harry tightly, and he was just about to board his motorbike, when he saw Hagrid walking up to the house.

"NOOO!" Hagrid screamed loudly. "They can't be dead! They can't be dead! Lily…James…" Hagrid's loud cries startled Harry, who stopped sniffling momentarily to look at the giant source of the sound.

"How…how did 'Arry survive?" exclaimed Hagrid, as he wiped his eyes with his enormous handkerchief.

"I don't know how he survived, but I am taking him home now-"

"No, yeh can't, Sirius! Gimme 'Arry! Dumbledore's orders-"

"No, Hagrid! I'm his Godfather. I'll take care of him. I'm taking him home to Athena-"

"Look 'ere, Sirius. Dumbledore's given me a job…an' I'm going to do it…and yeh need to trust Dumbledore-"

"Fine!" said Sirius suddenly, realising that the sooner he hunted down the rodent, the better.

"I'll see you in a while, Prongslet," Sirius whispered to Harry, while placing a kiss onto the top of his head; and then he turned to Hagrid

"Take him to Dumbledore. And keep him safe till I come to collect him with Athena and Acquila…and heal his forehead…Dumbledore might know more about the scar…and take the motorbike, Hagrid. I don't need it," he said, before handing a very reluctant Harry, who refused to let go of his Godfather, to Hagrid; and then as he saw the Hagrid take off on the motorbike, he transformed into his Dog form to hunt down the rat.

**xxx**

At Sirius' house, Athena was pacing the floor with Acquilla in her arms. The child had finally fallen asleep, refusing to let go of the Muggle photograph which she held tightly in her little fist. The photograph was taken a day after Acquila was born. Sirius next to Athena with a tiny Acquila in his arms, and sitting next to them were James, Lily and baby Harry lying on Lily's lap.  
Athena was worried like never before. Where was Sirius? What was taking him so long? What happened to Harry and the Potters? Question after question kept running through her mind, when she saw a Phoenix suddenly appearing in the room.

Fawkes! With a letter in his talons! She grabbed the letter and hastily opened it. It seemed to have been written very hurriedly, in a very familiar cursive handwriting

_Athena,_

_Sirius has been taken to Azkaban. He betrayed the Potters. James and Lily are dead. Sirius killed Peter and thirteen muggles. Harry is alive. I am taking him to Mrs. Petunia Dursley, Lily's sister._

_Albus_

"No!" she screamed aloud, the sound waking up Acquila.

"Mamma?" Acquila muttered sleepily.

"We have to go, sweetheart. Sirius… They can't take him away… I won't let anything happen to you, Sirius. I'll find Wormtail and save you. The traitor… Oh Merlin! What have you done, Peter? James, Lily… dead…" she muttered like a crazed lady.

She grabbed her wand and put it in the pocket of her robes, held Acquila more securely in her arms and set forth. She had barely gotten out of the anti-apparition wards of her flat and on to the street, when she spotted a man walking towards them.

"You traitor! How dare you! How could you do that to James and Lily? To Sirius?" she screamed furiously at Peter Pettigrew, whose watery eyes stared into her cornflower-blue ones.

She tried to balance Acquila in one arm and take out her wand from her pocket with the other, inwardly cursing herself for being so careless with her wand. But the split second was all it took for Peter to raise his wand at her.

"Mamma!" was the last word she heard from a suddenly frightened Acquila before the green jet of light hit her and she saw no more.

Her lifeless body crumpled to the ground and Acquila fell onto the Muggle street.

"I'm sorry, Acquila… Didn't want to kill… Only Athena knew I was the secret keeper… forgive me…" Peter mumbled to the toddler, who was staring at him with grey eyes, eyes just like Sirius'.

He raised his wand at the child, who suddenly seemed to sense danger and started whimpering and trying to crawl away from Peter.

After a few moments' hesitation, Peter pocketed his wand without casting the curse and apparated away.

In the early hours of the 1st of November, a man walking on the street spotted a woman lying dead on the road, and a child crying, "Mamma! Wake! Mamma!" trying to make the dead woman respond to her cries.

He called up the police and a few hours later, Acquila was sitting with a lady from the Child Care Services at a Muggle police station, the photograph still clutched tightly in her hand.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews and follows. Really encouraging. Hope you like this chapter :)

**Disclaimer: **I neither own the Harry Potter universe nor the characters. Except for Athena and Acquila, the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**Chapter: The Aftermath**

Remus Lupin had always been a calm man. There had been many instances in his twenty-one year old life, when the wolf within his mind had wanted to rage and storm. But the man within him had always overcome the wolf and maintained calm. But now, as he paced within Dumbledore's office, the rage and anger threatened to overtake him. The wolf was baying for blood-Sirius' blood.

He tried to reason with himself. The Sirius he knew would have given up his life for James. James was more of a brother to Sirius than Regulus had ever been.

James-Ever caring, courageous, who loved Lily and Harry more than life itself and perhaps loved Sirius just as much as he loved them. James… His body shook with sobs. Sitting in the compartment in which James was sitting in the Hogwarts Express on the first day of school was probably the best decision of his life.

James, Sirius and Peter... Peter. He still couldn't believe that Sirius had killed Peter. Throughout the seven years at Hogwarts, the three Marauders had protected Peter from Slytherins who bullied him. How could Sirius kill him? How could Sirius break all the vows of friendship they had sworn together?

Thinking of Sirius reminded him of Athena and Acquila. Athena was dead, and as per the Daily Prophet she was killed on Sirius' orders by a death eater.

Athena McKinnon- auburn hair, deep blue eyes, and classic pure-blood beauty, Athena was everything one could ever want in a girl. Her parents had named her 'Athena' for the Greek Goddess of intelligence and wisdom. And Athena had done complete justice to her name. She was probably the most intelligent witch in their year. And she was just as caring and loving as she was wise. She had been there for Sirius when he was going through probably the worst phase of his life.

When Sirius had run away from Grimmauld place, despite James and the Potters supporting him, Sirius had felt lonely, unloved. And it was then that Athena had finally started dating him, after two years of him asking her out. And Sirius had finally got the love he had always lacked. She had brought Sirius out of his misery probably even better than the Marauders could have. She had brought stability to Sirius' reckless attitude. And Remus had always thought that Sirius would have rather died than let Athena ever face any harm. But the traitor had ordered death eaters to kill her!

And Acquila was missing! He thought of what could have happened to her, shuddering as he did so; each scenario seeming even worse than the previous one.

The death eaters had probably killed her off. Or taken her to bring her up as a dark witch, or Bellatrix could have tortured her… He shook his head to clear it of thoughts. He would not think of such things. He would do everything within his power to search for Acquila.

And Harry! Harry had survived, but Remus had no idea where he was. And now Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen. Remus had been pacing Dumbledore's office for the past forty minutes; he had half a mind to destroy all of Dumbledore's instruments lying on the table to give an outlet to his rage when suddenly Fawkes appeared right in front of him with Dumbledore clutching on to his tail wings.

"Remus, my boy! When did you get here?"

"Forget the pleasantries, Albus. Where is Harry? And where is Acquila? McGonagall refused to tell me anything! She told me to ask you!"

Dumbledore sighed before replying. "Harry is at Lily's sister's house. She will take care of him"

Remus' mouth fell open.

"HAVE YOU LOST IT?" he bellowed.

Dumbledore seemed quite surprised at Remus' outrage and a small voice in the back of Remus' mind, which sounded like a young Sirius whispered '_Moooony! You're probably the first person to yell at him! One more record to add to the Marauder's achievements_!'

Remus pushed the voice out of his head and tried to calm himself down.

"Petunia hates Magic. She hates Lily. She will never care for Harry. He'll live a miserable life with Petunia! I won't let you do this. How am I going to face James in the after- life? How do you think Charlus and Dorea would have felt if they knew that their only grandson is going to spend his entire childhood with people who hate the very idea of Magic?"

"Calm down, Remus. They are the only relatives Harry has. And as per wizarding law, you have no legal rights on Harry. You are neither his relative nor his guardian or Godfather. And believe me, as long as Harry stays with Petunia, no one can hurt him. Lily gave her life for Harry. And with Petunia being her sister, the blood wards won't let any harm befall Harry as long as he consider Petunia's house as his home."

"But, Albus! You just don't understand! Petunia will ill-treat him! Lily had told us how her sister is when it comes to magic. She won't care for Harry. Please, Albus. If not for Harry, at least for Lily and James' sake, let me take care of Harry," he tried to reason with Dumbledore.

"Don't you trust me, Remus? And forgive my harsh words, but you are a werewolf . Do you think the magical world will react favourably when they know that their saviour is living with a werewolf? Do you think wizarding families won't protest? And even if he stays with you, what about the full moon nights? Who will take care of Harry? And Petunia has a son who is just a month older than Harry. She knows how to take care of a child."

"Albus, please…" Remus tried to object, but Dumbledore cut him off in mid-sentence. "Remus, Voldemort is not completely vanquished. He will come back. Maybe not now, but a few years into the future, he will certainly be back. And the only way to ensure Harry's safety is to make him stay with the Dursleys. Do you want to ensure Harry's safety or not?"

Remus had no objection to this. Harry's safety was paramount. Remus would not let Lily and James' sacrifice go in vain. He would protect Harry even if he had to give his own life for it.

"Okay," he sighed in reluctant agreement. "Now tell me where is Acquila."

Dumbledore sighed. He could sense another long argument in the offing. "She's in a Muggle orphanage"

"WHAT! She is Athena's daughter! A Muggle Orphanage! This is not done! This is just not done! I'll take care of Acquila! I'll think of some way to take care of her during the full moon-"

"Remus! Listen to me. Acquila is a Black. She's the heiress to the House of Black, to be precise. And Walb-"

"Exactly!" Remus cut Dumbledore off. "She's a Black. Andromeda Tonks will take care of her! Andromeda knows how to take care of a child. And she loved Sirius! She will definitely agree to take in Acquilla!"

"And what do you think Walburga will do when she knows Acqulla is living the Tonks? You think she will let her pure blood granddaughter stay with the niece she blasted off the family tree? You think she'll let Acquila live with the Muggle-born Ted Tonks? The minute she knows of this, she will take custody of Acquilla. And as per wizarding law, we cannot stop her. She is Acquilla's closest living relative. Nobody from the McKinnon family survives. Acquilla's Godparents, James and Lily are both no more. So Walburga can legally claim guardianship of Acquilla. Do you want Athena's only child to be brought up at Grimmauld Place? To be brought up thinking dark magic is a way of life? Do you want Acquilla to be subjected to dark magic for disobeying Walburga like Sirius was? And Acquila faces danger not just from Walburga,but other members of the Black family too. Arcturus is Sirius' grandfather. You think he wouldn't want Acquila? She is the heiress to the Black family, their enormous wealth and their legacy. And each surviving member of the Blacks would want Acquila. Who knows better than you how the Blacks reacted to Sirius running away from home when he was sixteen? They will use Acquila to redeem the 'wrongs' which Sirius committed. Do you want her to grow up and betray her friends like Sirius did? They will bring her up to be a perfect Black, filled with pure-blood propaganda. Do you think Athena would have wanted this for her daughter?"

Remus was lost for words. Even thinking of Acquila being brought up the way Sirius was tore at his heart.

"But why a Muggle orphanage? Is there no better alternative? I will move out of England with Acquila and keep her hidden rather than her being brought up in an orphanage."

"Trust me. What I am doing is for the greater good. It's for the best, for both Harry and Acquila. I only have their best interests at heart. I wouldn't take any decision which will cause them pain. Their parents were James, Lily and Athena. You think I would let any harm befall their kids?"

Remus had nothing to say to that. If being away from Acquila and Harry would guarantee their safety, he would abide by Dumbledore's decisions.

"Won't the Blacks search for Acquila?" Remus suddenly exclaimed.

"I will take care of that," Dumbledore responded. "I will see to it that people think Acquila is dead. I have already put the plan into action. An unclaimed body of a young child from a Muggle morgue, a few glamour charms to make the body seem like Acquila's, and she will be dead to the wizarding world. The body will be discovered by the Aurors. I have taken Alastor Moody into confidence. He being the head of the Auror department will see to it that no questions are raised regarding Acquila's fake body. And the news will be out in tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet. A few spells will lead to the process of sending Acquila to the orphanage speeding up. And a few Muggle law enforcement officers will have to be obliviated. And I will have her name changed in the muggle records."

"Please let her keep her name. Athena had decided on the name the moment she found out that she was expecting a girl. She even had the name engraved on a McKinnon family bracelet. Didn't you see the bracelet on Acquila's hand? Nobody can take it off except Sirius or Athena. They had charmed it so."

"Oh! I'll let her retain her name then. I'll just erase her last name from the records. We cannot have her bearing the name 'Black'"

"Can you at least tell me which orphanage she is in? I'll at least see how she is. Discreetly. I won't reveal who I am. But let me at least assure myself that she is well taken care of."

Dumbledore grabbed a piece of parchment from the table and with a flick of his wand, an address appeared on it.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Remus. Not just James, Lily, Peter and Athena, but Harry and Acquila as well. I know you would have cared for and loved them as much as their parents would have. But sometimes, the greater good of the wizarding community at large is more important."

"I understand, Albus. Their safety is what matters the most. If Harry and Acquila being away from me is the price that I have to pay for keeping them safe, I am ready to do so"

As Remus proceeded to depart, Dumbledore said, "Take care of yourself, Remus. Give yourself time to grieve. And if you need anything, I am always here for my former students."

He nodded in reply, "Thank you, Albus… for everything."

**xxx**

The next morning, a copy of the Daily Prophet lay unfurled on Remus Lupin's table:

**_Black Family Heiress, Acquila Black found dead in a muggle street_**

**_-R_**_eport by senior correspondent Eleanor O'Brein_

_According to a report released by the Alastor Moody, the head of the Auror department, the body of Acquila Black- daughter of Sirius Black, who was sent to Azkaban for killing Peter Pettigrew and 13 muggles- was found dead by aurors in a muggle alley a short distance away from the Black residence. Acquila was missing after her mother was killed in the early hours of 1st November. _

_When questioned further about her death, Alastor Moody said, "My team from the Auror department found her body behind a trash bin. She appears to have suffered an instant death. The cause of death cannot be disclosed as per orders from the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE)."_

_Acquila Black, born on the 5th of August, 1980 was the only daughter of pure-bloods, Sirius Orion Black III and Athena McKinnon. Sirius Black being the only surviving male heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black (His brother, Regulus Black was a death-eater and was killed a few years ago), Acquila was the heiress to the entire fortune of the House of Black as well as the House of Gamp. Hesper Gamp, the last descendant of the house of Gamp married into the Black Family. And the Gamp title and fortune passed through the male line of her son, Arcturus Black, Sirius Black's paternal grandfather. _

_Though Sirius Black was disowned by his mother when he was 16 years of age, he cannot be disinherited as per the Black Family rules. Thus the Black and Gamp titles and fortunes would have ultimately been inherited by Acquila Black, if Sirius Black had no more children._

_With Sirius Black now in Azkaban, there are no surviving male heirs left of the House of Black. Bellatrix Lestrange, death-eater and the eldest daughter of Cygnus Black has no progeny. Andromeda Tonks, Cygnus' second daughter has been disowned for marrying a Muggle-born. And thus, the titles and fortune of the Houses of Black and Gamp will pass on to Draco Malfoy, son of Narcissa Black, youngest daughter of Cygnus and her husband, rumoured death-eater Lucius Malfoy after the demise of Sirius Black._

_Athena McKinnon, whose entire family was killed by He-who-must-not-be-named's followers, was the head of the pure-blood House of McKinnon. With the death of Acquilla, the McKinnon title and fortune will now pass on to her nearest relative, Alastor Moody, who was the mentor of Marlene McKinnon, Athena's deceased elder sister._

_When asked to comment on Acquila Black's death, Narcissa Malfoy declined to comment. Walburga Black, Sirius Black's mother too, refused to comment and threatened to order her House-Elf to bodily throw out this reporter._

_According to sources who do not wish to be named, Athena and Acquila Black were killed by death-eaters on the orders of Sirius. Alastor Moody, however declined to comment on these allegations._

_The funerals of Athena and Acquila Black will be held tomorrow, the 3rd of November at the family cemetery of the McKinnons._

**xxx**

Three days after Athena's funeral, Sirius was lying in his prison cell at Azkaban. He had hardly slept since the fateful day when Peter escaped from right under his nose. He cursed himself for letting that happen. Peter Pettigrew, the man who wouldn't have known one end of his wand from the other had out-dueled him. How could he have let this happen? He was Sirius Black, a fully trained Auror, whom many people expected to take over the from Mad-Eye Moody as the head of the Auror department some day, thanks to his brilliant dueling skills and fearless attitude.

But grief and rage had overtaken his dueling skills and the bastard Pettigrew had managed to escape, pinning the entire blame on Sirius. How could Sirius have been so stupid? Why could none of them have realized that Peter was the spy? How could Sirius have even been suspicious of Mooney? Why couldn't he have been Secret Keeper himself rather than telling James to give Peter the responsibility?

It had been almost a week since he was brought to Azkaban without a trial. WITHOUT A TRIAL! The injustice of it all made him want to scream his lungs out. The lifeless images of James and Lily kept whirling in his brain. The only thing that kept him sane in Azkaban was hoping that his wife and daughter would be safe. He knew Athena wouldn't let him rot in Azkaban. She would be determined to get Sirius out of prison. And when Athena was determined enough, no force on earth could stop her from getting to her goal.

Sirius lay awake staring at the low ceiling of his tiny cell when he heard footsteps. Not the firm footsteps of Aurors, but lady-like footsteps of someone who had been brought up being taught to walk daintily, like a true lady. He immediately got up and tried to see who the visitor was. Would it be Athena? Had she finally come to take him out of that living hell?

"Hahaha!" He heard a cackling sound. It was Bellatrix in his adjacent cell.

"Did wittle Sirius Black think someone had come to save him? Is my baby cousin wanting to see his blood-traitor wife?" she said, taunting him.

Just then, Narsicca Malfoy came into view. She was accompanied by an Auror.

"You have only five minutes, Mrs. Malfoy," said the Auror. "I will be waiting out for you."

"See, I told you, dear cousin! The entire wizarding world hates you now! Killer of thirteen muggles! Nobody is going to come to visit you! None of your blood-traitor pals care enough for you!" Bellatrix said venomously and started laughing maniacally.

"I didn't kill anyone! It was Peter all along! That traitor! You should know it better than I do. He was one of you, following your crazy master, Voldemort," Sirius spat out.

"Don't you dare utter the name of the Dark Lord from your unworthy lips! You are a disgrace to the Black Family! Aunt Walburga regrets having even given birth to you. She told me herself that she would have preferred having being childless than having a blood-traitor like you for a son!"

"I don't care what the old hag thinks. She was no mother of mine. Dorea was more of a mother to me than Walburga ever was," retorted Sirius, his fists clenched as he tried to control his anger.

"Dorea? She was as much a disgrace to the Black family as you are!" Bellatrix said with a sinister laugh.

Sirius was just about to retort, when Narcissa intervened, "Enough! Bella! I don't have much time. I have come here to talk to you, not to listen to you squabble with the blood-traitor."

Bellatrix sneered at Sirius and turned her attention to Narcissa.

Sirius tuned out their voices, not interested in their sisterly talk. He wondered how Narcissa had been allowed to see Bellatrix when Athena hadn't been to Azkaban to see him yet. Lucius Malfoy had probably bribed the authorities with a few galleons from his vast Malfoy fortune.

Suddenly, he thought of asking Narcissa about the latest news on Harry, Athena and Acquila. Surely the Daily Prophet would have printed something. And being Malfoy's wife, she would know everything.

"Narcissa! Is Harry safe with my wife and daughter?" Sirius asked her. Narcissa heard him but chose to ignore him and continued talking to Bellatrix.

"They must have definitely written something in the Prophet about Harry. And your all-knowing husband would surely know where Harry is."

She ignored him again. Sirius kept asking her continuously; he needed to know if they were fine, when the Auror who had escorted Narcissa entered saying, "Time is up, Mrs. Malfoy. You have to leave!"

She started walking back to the stone door.

"Please, Narcissa! Even you have a child of your own! Can't you understand why I want to know how they are? What if it was Draco? Wouldn't you have wanted to know his whereabouts? Harry is as good as my son," Sirius almost pleaded with her.

At this, she stopped abruptly and turned to Sirius.

"Potter is not with them. Dumbledore has taken care of Potter. Your wife and child were killed some time after the Potters were killed by the Dark Lord."

She gave him an undecipherable glance and left.

"No! No! This can't be true! You're lying! Come back here!" Sirius started yelling, sudden tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Haha! It is true! Your wife was found on a Muggle street and your daughter was found behind a trash can the day before I was brought here. This is what happens to people who oppose my Lord.!" Bellatrix began cackling again, enjoying his misery.

But Sirius heard no more. He had lost his family, his friends, his everything. He had nothing to live for now. With Acquila, Athena and James gone, life had no meaning for him.

**xxx**

Somewhere in Surrey, Remus Lupin, under the disillusionment charm was walking towards a small colourful building with a huge lawn in front of it. He stepped in silently and started looking into all the rooms of the building as discreetly as he could. He had to see her once before leaving for Ireland. He had to make sure she was being taken care of.

After searching for her in most of the rooms he finally spotted her sitting in the playroom surrounded by dolls. A woman was playing with her and it seemed like Acquila was enjoying her company. He felt a sudden sense of relief.

Acquila was giggling, just like she used to when he went to meet her at the Black residence. He felt an urge to go and pick her up on his arms and talk to her. He knew Acquila would recognize him now.

But Remus' heart broke at the realization that a few weeks later, as Acquila would grow up, she would forget all about Uncle Mooney. She wouldn't remember the times he took care of her when Sirius and Athena went out on tasks for the Order of the Phoenix. She wouldn't remember anything of her 'Unca Mooey', who brought her chocolate frogs and the Muggle toffees which she so loved.

It took him all his self control to resist himself from hugging Acquila one last time.

Looking at the McKinnon bracelet on Acquila's hand reminded him of Athena. And the funeral. There wasn't a single person at the funeral that hadn't been teary-eyed. Athena was universally loved and respected. He cursed Sirius repeatedly for everything…the Potters' deaths, Athena and Peter's deaths, Acquila living in the orphanage… and Remus being left all alone. The Marauders were as good as his family. And now he was the only Marauder left, he wouldn't give Sirius the honour of being called a Marauder.

His disillusionment charm was starting to wear off. He looked at her one last time and then left the building, tears falling down his cheeks. Seeing Acquila made him want to stay but he remembered that he had no one left here whom he could call his friend or family. He would leave England. There was nothing left for him there. Living in a new land with strangers would take the bad memories off his mind gradually. He would start a new life abroad. With that thought in mind he set forth to Ireland.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Akasanta and Merida, thank you for your reviews. I hope you like this chapter as well. Keep reviewing.

**Disclaimer:** I neither own the Harry Potter universe nor the characters except for Athena and Acquila, the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**Chapter 3: First day of School**

Seven years later, Albus Dumbledore apparated into an empty street somewhere in Surrey. As he took firm steps towards the white-washed building in the adjacent lane, numerous thoughts whirled through his mind. And most of the thoughts pertained to two people- an eight year old girl, and a Dark Lord who was considered dead by many. Both of them were brought up in orphanages. Voldemort, though very few people knew about it, grew up in a muggle orphanage. And in a corner of his mind, Dumbledore knew that life in the orphanage had somehow played a part in the young Tom Marvolo Riddle turning into the dreaded Lord Voldemort.  
And Dumbledore did not want to repeat the same mistake with Acquila Black. Hence, Dumbledore had taken measures to ensure that Acquila had been giving a loving and caring upbringing. The McKinnon family fortune had been inherited by Alastor Moody, and Dumbledore had ensured that a significant amount of money was being donated to the King Edward the VII Home for Orphaned Children where Acquila Black stayed. And Moody had seen to it that the orphanage authorities were aware that the grants were being made by well-wishers of Acquila, leading to the authorities taking proper care of her. She had been brought up with ample love and care by the people working at the orphanage. Albus had undertaken quite a few discrete trips to the orphanage over the past seven years to ensure that she was well cared for.  
But today, he went to the orphanage for a different reason. He still remembered the 1st of November, 1981, the day he took Acquila to the orphanage. His acute magical senses had discovered something within Acquila Black- a powerful magical core; she would be an extremely powerful witch when she grew up. But even more surprising was the magical bond within her. He could sense something within the child, something which he had sensed just once in his life- a magical bond with another person. As per Dumbledore's knowledge- and Dumbledore knew himself to be a lot more knowledgeable than the average witch or wizard- there was only one such bonded couple currently in existence- Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. The Flamels were one of a kind. No one could harm either of them when they were in the vicinity of the other. And their magic reached the zenith of its power when they were together. An unbreakable connection existed between the magical couple.  
And if Dumbledore's guess was right- like most of his guesses were-Acquila Black had a magical bond with none other than Harry James Potter. He had concluded that when he had sensed the presence of a similar magical bond within Harry, when he left him on the Dursleys' door-step. He also sensed something dark within Harry, but he deduced it was due to coming in contact with an unforgivable curse. He would learn better about it when both the kids turned eleven and started attending Hogwarts and gained full control of their magic. But Acquila and Harry meeting each other now, would probably help the bond within them blossom further. Which is why, Dumbledore was visiting the orphanage.  
He opened the gate leading to the winding path which led to the office of the Matron of the orphanage. As the lady looked up from some register she was going through, she saw a tall man with a long white beard, even longer white hair and half-moon spectacles perched on his crooked nose. The man wore a black suit, but the matron thought he looked rather like the wizards depicted in the book of fairy-tales she read to the children."How can I help you, Sir?" she said. "Good morning, Madam. I am Albus Dumbledore. I have come to speak to you regarding Acquila, the child who stays in your orphanage."  
Thinking that the man was probably the well-wisher who donated hundreds of pounds each year, the matron paid full attention to him. "Hello, Sir! Do you wish to see the child? I will call her right now. Acqui.."  
"Wait", Dumbledore cut her off in mid-sentence, "I do not wish to see the child. But I have come here to get her admitted into a primary school. I want her to receive a proper education."  
"But Sir, are you related to the child? Why are you so interested in Acquila? I assume that you are the person who donates money each year. May I know what your relation to her is? If you are related to her, we need to inform the authorities who maintain a record of the children here"  
Dumbledore did not want any hassles with the muggle authorities and with the help of some wandless non-verbal magic, the Matron was acquiescing with Dumbledore's request.  
"Oh! Why not! Just tell me which school you want Acquila to study in, and I'll take care of the rest."  
"Thanks a lot, Madam. May I ask how is Acquila? Is she a well behaved child?"  
"Acquila is a wonderful child, Sir! She is very loving, and a sensible girl. She is probably the most intelligent child here. She is a very quick learner and has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, despite her tender age."  
"I am glad to know that. Does she get along well with the other children?"  
The matron hesitated. Dumbledore tried to coax her to reveal her thoughts, "Please feel free to tell me anything, madam."  
"Well, the children don't get on well with her. She is a lonely child."  
"Is there any particular reason for that?"  
"When she was younger, she was well loved by all the other kids. Everyone used to love spending time with her. But as she got older, odd things started happening with her, things which I feel she has no control over. It started scaring the other kids. And no one wanted to be around her anymore."  
"Incidents?"  
"Well, strange incidents. Once we had given all the children a sapling each. They were supposed to tend to them everyday. But the first day itself, Acquila said that she wished that her sapling would grow up and flower soon because she didn't have the patience to wait for a few months till it grew. And the next moment, the sapling shooted upwards before my very eyes and a single flower burst into bloom. The kids started discussing the incident amongst themselves and concluded that whatever Acquila wished would happen and she could use her powers to harm them. A few children who envied Acquila for her intelligence and popularity added fuel to the rumours and gradually her friends started distancing themselves from her. Then on another occasion, a boy tried to snatch a book she was reading when suddenly the book flew out of her hands and hit the boy right in his face. I was present there. Acquila did nothing! She swore she did nothing. She even cried after the incident because she felt guilty for indirectly hurting the boy. But the kids blamed her for it."  
"Oh, I see."  
A few more words and the exchange of a few pounds later, Dumbledore had achieved what he had come forth to do. Acquila would be studying in the school which Harry attended, and if all went well, they would befriend each other and help the magical bond blossom. His work done, Dumbledore popped a sherbet lemon in his mouth and disapparated back to where he had come from.

Acquila was excited about something for the first time since a few months. She was really eager to attend her first day at school. She got ready an hour before she had to leave. Her straight black hair was tied up in two pigtails. And her grey eyes shone with immense excitement. She was waiting impatiently for her teacher, Mrs. Smith at the reception of the orphanage.

Half an hour later, Acquila and Mrs. Smith were at the gates of the school.

"Enjoy your first day, dear! I'll be here to pick you up after school", she said and waved her a goodbye.

Acquila was trying to take in everything around her- the school building, the playground, the children walking through the corridors and the strict-looking teachers. She quickly found her class. The deputy headmaster had showed her around the school when had first visited the school with Mrs. Smith to obtain admission.

Just outside the classroom, a group of children were gathered around in a circle. She had a very bad feeling about whatever was going on there. And she felt an inexplicable force pull her towards the scene of the commotion. She made her way through the crowd to ascertain what the matter was.

She spotted a skinny, bespectacled boy who was shielding his face with his hands from three well-built boys. Acquila thought that the fat boy who was closest to the skinny boy looked rather like a baby whale. "Move your hands away from your face, freak! I want to punch your nose real hard!"

Acquila was never one who could stand watching in the sidelines when someone was being bullied. She knew she had to rescue the thin boy, even though she was hardly half the size of the enormous bully and his mates.

"Don't act like a coward, Harry. Stop shielding your face. I'll punch you anyway." said the bully.

Acquila felt a sudden urge to protect the boy and she ran towards the boys, placing herself between the skinny boy and the bullies like a shield.

"Go and find someone your own size, you bully!" she said bravely staring up at the enormous boy towering above her.

"How dare you speak to me like that! Do you even know who I am? No one dares to talk to Dudley this way! Who are you anyway? Never seen you before." Dudley yelled at her.

"That is none of your concern" she retorted angrily.

"Watch your tongue, girl or I'll..." Dudley said and tried to take a step towards Acquila but he seemingly lost his balance and fell on top of his friends. The whole crowd tried to control their laughter. Acquila thought they were rather scared of laughing at the guy named Dudley.

Dudley was struggling to get up, muttering threats against Acquila under his breath. The two boys on whom Dudley fell, seemed completely unable to even make an effort to get up, Dudley's massive weight falling on them had probably winded them up.

The only person who noticed the reason for Dudley falling down seemed to be the bespectacled guy, because he was neither laughing nor looking at Dudley's efforts to stand up. He was staring unblinkingly at Acquila. Harry had seen what happened. Dudley's shoelaces had started tying themselves up on their own, as if by magic! And that was the reason why Dudley suddenly stumbled.

Dudley finally got up and stood facing the two kids with his mates behind him. Just as he was about to say something to Acquila, he saw the teacher approaching and said to them in a vicious whisper, "I'll get back at you for this; both of you." and he stomped his way to the classroom.

Both Harry and Acquila looked at each other and followed Dudley. Harry sat on his usual desk and Acquila sat right next to him.

"Hey! Thanks for what you did. I'm Harry, by the way. Harry Potter", he introduced himself.

"I'm Acquila."

"I'm grateful to you, but you didn't need to help me. Dudley bullies me everyday. It's nothing new. I've learnt to live with it. And you don't need to have Dudley as your enemy for my sake. He will start giving you trouble too."

"He bullies you everyday and you do nothing about it?" she asked him with a mixture of astonishment and anger.

"There is no point. He's bigger than me and he's my cousin. I live with him."

Acquila was about to say something but the teacher entered.

"Students, please settle down." She said to the class at large.

"This year we have a few new admissions let me introduce them to the class."

While Acquila was being introduced to the class Harry thought about something he felt when she came and faced Dudley. He felt like he knew her. He felt a strange sense of completeness when he first looked at her. It was as if they had an invisible connection with each other. He waved the thought off by thinking that it wasn't possible. He had just met her. Maybe he felt that way because it was the first time someone had stood up for him, deemed him worth defending against Dudley.

Harry and Acquila attended the rest of the classes together. Harry wanted to talk to her further, but 1having never interacted much with children his age, especially girls, he felt rather shy to initiate a conversation. As for Acquila, she was brooding over the possibility that someone would realise that she was the one who made Dudley's shoelaces tie themselves up, and the children in her new school would ignore her just like the kids at her orphanage. She was so engrossed in her thoughts, that she didn't really make an effort to talk to Harry.

At the end of the day, Acquila found Mrs. Smith waiting for her at the school gate.

"Looks like your day was good. You made a friend there?" She said pointing at Harry's retreating figure.

"Yes! It was good." replied Acquila vaguely, though her thoughts seemed to be wandering elsewhere.

Acquila was quite a talkative child. And since the kids at the orphanage ignored her, she tended to talk a lot to her teachers. Acquila's s vague reply and her lack of eagerness to describe her first day at school worried Mrs. Smith. "What happened, my child? Is something wrong? Did something happen at school today?" she asked Acquila with concern.

At this Acquila's mind drifted to the Dudley incident. And the messy haired, green eyed boy, Harry, who seemed inexplicably familiar to her. Realizing that Mrs. Smith was looking at her for a reply, she assured her, "No, madam. I had quite a good day. I learnt a lot."

Knowing from experience that Acquila could never be forced into revealing her thoughts, Mrs. Smith changed the topic.

The next day, Harry and Acquila were sitting on the swings during their recess, still quite shy to talk more than a few sentences with each other. The bell rang signaling the end of the recess. Acquila tried to get down from the swing but fell down in the process. "Acquila!" exclaimed Harry, staring worriedly at her bruised knee and tried to help her up and then assisted her to walk.

"Don't worry! I'll take you to the school nurse. You'll be fine", Harry assured her.

Just as they stepped out of the playground their path was blocked by Dudley and his gang.

"Looks like your girlfriend can't save you today, Harry", said Dudley pointing at Acquila's knee which had started to bleed.

Harry stared at Dudley in terror. He knew Dudley was very much capable of punching an injured girl. Harry couldn't bear the mere thought of Acquila getting picked on by Dudley just for having defended Harry the previous day. He would need to think quickly to get Acquila out of the situation.

"Dudley! Look! An ice cream truck!" Harry exclaimed with fake enthusiasm.

As Dudley and his friends turned their attention to the street, Harry took advantage of their temporary distraction and grabbed Acquila's hand and started running in the opposite direction towards the entrance of the school building. Dudley and his gang soon realized that they had been fooled and ran after them.

When Acquila started screaming in pain and Harry belatedly remembered that she had hurt her knee. He wished that they could go somewhere, where Dudley wouldn't be able to reach them and Acquila wouldn't have to run anymore. He shut his eyes to think of some way to help Acquila and when he opened his eyes the next moment, he and Acquila had somehow managed to land on the roof of the school building! On the ground below, he could see Dudley and his gang looking around the lawn, confusion evident on their faces. As realization dawned on what had just happened Harry and Acquila looked at each other with shocked expressions.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Thanks for your review, **Battleofthegood**! This chapter's for you! Harry & Acquila finally meet and become friends! :)

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't be writing this here. I would have probably been on halfway to London to visit Hever Castle with the money I made from it.  
I neither own the Harry Potter universe nor the characters except for Athena and Acquila, the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**Chapter 4: The Bond blossoms**

"How did you do that!?" an extremely surprised Acquila asked Harry. "How did we land up here? One moment we were running from Dudley and the next moment we're up here on the roof. How did that happen?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't... I'm sorry..." said Harry and started to edge away from her.

After she had saved him from Dudley the previous day, Harry had hoped that he could be friends with Acquila. But now, he was sure she wouldn't talk to him. His aunt and uncle were probably right, he _was_ a freak. Now Acquila would probably mirror the other children who gave him a wide berth. He had lost the opportunity to finally gain a friend.

"No! Harry! Why are you sorry? I should be thankful to you. You saved me from Dudley..."

"You don't consider me a freak? You aren't angry with me?" asked Harry, daring to hope that she would still want to be his friend.

"No, Harry. Why would I be angry with you? And if you are a freak, then I guess I am one as well."

"What do you mean, Acquila?" he blurted out.

She hesitated before replying to him. She had never spoken to anyone regarding the odd incidents that happened when she was around. But somehow, she trusted Harry to understand her, trusted him to keep her secrets.

"Sometimes, when I want things to happen, they automatically happen. If some child from the orphanage gives me trouble, things happen which stop them from troubling me. If... if I want a bud to blossom into a flower, it does blossom the very next moment. I don't know how, I don't make them happen myself, but somehow if I want something to happen, it does happen..." she trailed off, wondering whether she did right in talking to Harry about this.

Would he ignore her like the children at the orphanage did, now that he knew about her 'powers'? Would he be scared of her like the others were? But somehow, deep within her heart, Acquila knew that Harry would never desert her, no matter what.

She looked to Harry for his response, but he just kept staring at her with a gobsmacked expression on his face. "Does this mean that I am not a freak? There are people like me! You are like me!" he exclaimed, a sense of relief gradually flooded through his veins.

"Once my aunt cropped off my hair so short that I was almost bald except for my fringe, which she left to hide my scar."

He pushed aside some of his hair to show her a lightening-bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

"I was dreading facing the kids at school the next day. But when I woke up, all of my hair had grown back to how it was before aunt Petunia cut it off!"

Acquila stared at him, her eyes shining with joy and relief. Her heart surged with happiness at the realisation that Harry was just like her. She wasn't an oddity or a freak. She suddenly put her arms around Harry and hugged him tightly, without even meaning to do it.

Harry was too shocked to respond. This was the first time someone had ever hugged him. He didn't know being hugged could feel so good, so loving. He gingerly put his arms around Acquila and returned the hug. They were both startled by a voice from the ground, "GOOD LORD! HOW DID YOU BOTH REACH THE ROOF!? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" their teacher was screeching at them at the top of her voice.

Harry and Acquila sprang away from each other, both of them red in the face. They had felt a strange sense of being complete when they hugged each other.

"I think we should go down there. I am sure the teacher will call up my aunt and someone from your orphanage to complain about us," said Harry to Acquila.

"Wait right there," said the teacher. "John! Go up there and bring the kids down. I don't want any broken bones!"

...

The day after the incident on the roof, Harry and Acquila met at school.

"Hi!" he said to her softly.

"Hi!" she replied.

They weren't shy with each other anymore, the talk they had on the roof had been an ice-breaker.

"So, did the people at the orphanage scold you after the teacher complained to them? I'm sorry for getting you into trouble," said Harry.

"Well, Mrs. Smith is in charge of me and she knows that I cannot control the things which seem to keep happening to me. She was just worried that I could have fallen off the roof and hurt myself. She didn't yell at me. She just hugged me and said that she hoped I would not do anything dangerous like that again. She thinks I did something that made us land up on the roof, not you. And you really don't need to be sorry, Harry. I told you yesterday as well, I am thankful to you for saving me from Dudley and his friends. Please don't blame yourself."

Harry heaved a sigh of relief. But then he suddenly turned pensive and said, "You know, Acquila. You are lucky that you get to live in a place where people love you and care for you. I wish I would have stayed in an orphanage too."

"Oh no, Harry! You said yesterday that you stay with your aunt, your relatives. I would have done anything to live with someone who was related to me; who cared enough for me to take me in when my parents passed away…"

"Relatives who don't even care for me; who consider me a burden… believe me, Acquila, your life is much better than mine. You don't have an uncle who keeps bellowing at you, nor a cousin who always wants to punch your nose, neither an aunt who makes you do most of the household chores."

"They make you do the housework? As in cooking and washing utensils and stuff like that?" asked a shocked Acquila.

Harry did not want any sympathy from Acquila, nor did he want to listen to her telling him to stand up to his aunt and uncle, because somewhere deep within, he knew that he would never be able to refuse Acquila anything.

"Enough about me. Tell me about life at the orphanage."

"No. You tell me about you first."

"Okay. My parents passed away in a car crash. See this scar?" he brushed aside the hair from his forehead, "I got it from the car crash. I live with Aunt Petunia, my mum's sister. I remember nothing about my parents or about the car crash. I just remember seeing some green light, but I guess it's just my imagination because where could have all the green light come from when the car crashed? The worst part is that I don't even know how my parents looked. I don't know anything at all about them. I have asked aunt Petunia about them, but she refuses to tell me, plus one of the most important rules of living with the Dursleys is 'Ask no questions'. So I have stopped trying to ask her about them," Harry said with a sad look on his face.

Acquila cursed her stupidity for asking Harry about his life; she somehow couldn't bear to see him sad and melancholy. "I am sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I should not have asked you about your parents."

"No, Acquila. I feel better after talking to you about it. Nobody has ever cared enough about me to ask me about myself. And you see, I have no one to talk to, I have no friends at all. People are scared to befriend me, thanks to Dudley. This is the first time ever that I have spoken to someone about my parents. And I am really feeling better, lighter."

"Alright. I guess I should tell you all about me now. My parents passed away when I was fifteen months old. I do not know who they were. I do not even know my surname. I know absolutely nothing about myself. You see this bracelet on my hand? My name is engraved on it. This is how the authorities came to know that my name is Acquila. Mrs. Smith also told me that my birthday is on the 5th of August, though I do not know how they know that. When I asked her, she said that it was in the records at the Orphanage. No one knows who entered it there. Life at the orphanage is good, except that I have no friends. They think whatever I want, happens, so I might hurt them. Once this guy was trying to snatch my book and the book suddenly flew from my hand and hit him in the face. Everyone thought I'd done it purposely. Since then no one really talks to me. So, I have no friends I know nothing about my family. I wish I at least knew who my parents were, what their names were, why none of my relatives bothered to look for me all these years. All I have of my parents is this a photograph. I always carry it with me. I'll show it to you."

She pulled a worn out photograph from her pocket and showed it to Harry.

"The man holding me must be my dad. We look similar, or at least I think we do." Acquila said

"You do look like him- the same hair, same grey eyes and features." Harry assured her.

"The lady next to him must be my mom." Acquila said with a longing in her voice.

"Who are the ones next to them? Relatives?" Harry asked curiously.

"Maybe. Or maybe they are friends." Acquila answered.

As she looked at the other couple, she realised something, "Doesn't this man with glasses look like you?" Acquila asked.

"Yes. I think he does. That's weird!" Harry exclaimed.

"Do you have a picture of your parents?" Acquila asked.

"No. My aunt doesn't have a picture of them." Harry said.

"She is your mom's sister. How can she not have her photograph?" Acquila asked in indignantly.

"I don't think she liked my mother. She never mentions her and she never likes me mentioning her too." Harry replied.

"Harry, your relatives shouldn't be treating you this badly. You should stand up to them." Acquila said.

"I know. I've tried to. But whenever I go against them, I accidently do things like growing back my hair in one night, I end up being locked in my room for a week. So I go along with whatever they say. It's easier that way." Harry tried to explain.

She shook her head sadly and picked up a flower bud that was lying on the ground. As soon as she picked it up it blossomed into a flower. She put it in her palm and shut it and the flower was a bud again, she opened her palm at the bud flowered again. Harry as he looked at her in awe.

"How did you do that?"

"I do not know. I just wished that the bud could blossom and it did."

"You think I can do it too?"

"You can try, Harry" she said and handed the flower to Harry. He placed it on his hand and shut his fist, wishing that it would go back to being a bud. And as he opened his palm, he was shocked to see a bud instead of a flower. He had a wide smile on his face. "That was just amazing! I never knew I could do something like that!"

As the bell rang and they both walked back to class, both of them had huge grins on their faces. They had each found someone who was just like them, who could make things happen and above all, someone who was a friend.

…

A few days later, Harry and Acquila were to be seen sitting on the swings in the school playground. Dudley was busy eating with his friends and had thankfully not bothered to trouble them.

"You know something, Acquila? Remember that day when I made the flower go back to being a bud again? I tried doing that at home and it just didn't happen. It only happens when you are around me, I think."

"Is that so? That's strange. I can do it back at the orphanage as well. I wish I could research on it. But the library has no books on 'freaks like us'," she giggled.

"I don't mind being a freak if you are one too! As long as you're with me, Acquila, I don't care what people say. I like being around you. You're the best friend I have ever had."

"Oh Harry! You're my best friend too! Though I admit you have no competitors since I have no other friends," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ah! Even you don't have any competitors, Aqua!"

"Hey! Don't call me that! Aqua sounds just weird! Acquila is much better! It's a constellation!"

"Aqua!" he said and stuck his tongue out at her in return. "But Acquila, I'm serious. No matter how many friends I have in future, I'll always be there for you. you'll always be my best friend, no matter what happens."

"Acquila's face burst into a wide grin and her grey eyes shone with what Harry thought were unshed tears. She put her arms around Harry in a hug.

"You'll always be my best friend too, Harry. Forever and ever. I promise!"

…

Three years passed by. Harry and Acquila stood at the school gate.

"Which school will you join? Has the orphanage told you anything? My aunt and uncle are sending me to Stonewall High." Harry asked for her for what must have been the hundredth time in that week. It was the last day of Primary school.

"I've told Harry. I don't know. I'm not even sure if I'll be joining a school or not," Acquila replied.

"I'll be going to Stonewall High and…"

"And Dudley will be going to Smeltings. I know that as well. You have told me."

Harry looked down at his feet which were clad in Dudley's old sneakers.

"What's the matter, Harry?"

"I don't want to leave this school. We wont be able to meet again. I'll be off to Stonewall and you… I don't even know where you will be…" his voice cracked, and he seemed to be trying his level best to control his tears.

But Acquila had no such control on herself. Tears slid down her cheeks in quick succession. She did not even make an effort to wipe them off.

"Oh Harry!" she sobbed, holding on tightly to him. He returned her hug, clutching tightly to her as if his life depended on it.

"What will I do without you, Harry? How will we ever meet again?" she started crying unrestrainedly on Harry's shoulder.

"I promise you, Acquila. I will come and meet you at the Orphanage when I come home for vacations from Stonewall High. I'll sneak out of home; I don't mind facing the Dursleys' ire. I'll come and meet you. if you aren't at the orphanage, then I will somehow come and meet you at whichever school you are. I swear I will." He was sobbing too.

Mrs. Smith had arrived at the School gate. She was observing the two kids from afar. She had never seen Acquila crying this badly since she was 8. When Acquila had befriended the boy named Harry, it was as if she had become a different person- confident, happy and optimistic. And bidding goodbye to Harry, seemed to be affecting Acquila very badly. But she had to leave now, she couldn't give Acquila any more time to bid adieu to the boy. They had to reach the orphanage in time. She walked out of the shadows and called out to Acquila, "Acquila dear, we have to leave now. Come on."

"Good bye, Harry. I'll miss you."

He reluctantly let go of her. "I'll miss you too, Acquila. I'll think of you every day. And remember my promise. I'll come to meet you for sure."

"Take care, Harry. And I hope you will be happy studying at Stonewall High."

"I love you, Acquila; more than anyone else in the world."

"I love you too, Harry!"

She hugged him one last time and set forth with Mrs. Smith, not daring to look back at Harry. She didn't want him to see the unceasing flow of tears down her face. And she couldn't bear to see Harry crying, even if the tears he shed were for her.

Harry stared at Acquila's retreating figure, when he heard a taunting voice behind him.

"Little Potter is crying for his girlfriend! Boo Hoo Hoo!" Dudley snickered.

Harry wiped off his tears with the back of his over-sized sleeves and started walking towards Privet Drive.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Thank you everyone for your reviews. akasanta & mdauben Hogwarts Express is next.

**Disclaimer:** Everything belongs to JKR.

**Chapter 5: Magical Revelation**

The 29th of July saw Acquila sitting in the backyard of the orphanage, her eyes fixed on the photograph in her hands. She stared at a particular person in the photograph, a bespectacled man with messy black hair who bore a strange resemblance to a boy whom she missed increasingly with each passing day. Looking at the man in the photograph somehow comforted her, probably due to the similarity he bore to Harry.  
Her caretakers at the orphanage had tried their best to cheer her up, but they failed. Acquila would spend a major part of the day brooding over Harry. As Acquila's fingers inadvertently moved over the other couple in the photograph whom she supposed were her parents, Mrs. Smith beckoned to her.

Acquila walked back inside the building, the photograph held firmly in her hands. Seated opposite Mrs. Smith was an old lady wearing glasses. She looked rather out of place in her ancient looking gown. As Acquila's grey eyes met those of the woman, the woman seemed rather shocked.  
"Acquila dear!" said Mrs. Smith, "This is Ms. Minerva McGonagall. She says that you have a place in her school. She is the deputy headmistress."

Acquila was surprised, "I have a place in your school?" she exclaimed. Her grey eyes lit up with a plethora of emotions flitting through them, which reminded McGonagall of an eerily similar pair of grey eyes which had lit up in the exact same manner twenty years ago, when the sorting hat had announced 'Gryffindor' instead of the expected 'Slytherin'. Sirius Black.

The girl was a miniature version of Sirius in a feminine mould. McGonagall almost never had favourites among her students. She treated them all the same. They were all equal for her. But deep within her heart, she knew that if ten years ago, she had to choose a favourite, it would have been Sirius Black. He was exceptional at transfiguration. And almost as good at defence against the dark arts. Despite his upbringing in a family where using dark magic was a routine occurance, Black had chosen the right path. Minerva always thought Sirius was probably one of the bravest people she knew. He had the courage to go against his family, against the Black traditions, knowing that he would be disowned and hunted down by his maniacal cousin, Bellatrix for bringing dishonour upon the most Noble and Ancient House of Black. He faced every adversity and challenge that life threw at him with a wide smile on his face. He joined the Auror department as soon as he left school, and despite facing a lot of prejudice- thanks to his last name Black and his brother and cousin being deatheaters- Sirius had risen quickly through the ranks of the Aurors and was thought of by many as capable of heading the department after the retirement of Moody despite his young age. He had faced Voldemort four times, twice as an Auror and twice as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and he was perhaps one of the few people who faced the Dark Wizard and lived to tell the tale. But his biggest quality was his loyalty and his ability to fulfill what he promised. He was even brave enough to become the Potters' secret keeper, knowing that the Dark Lord would hunt him down with even greater vigour than he previously had. But on that fateful Halloween day, Sirius had not just killed the Potters, Pettigrew and thirteen Muggles, but had also decimated the unflinching faith Minerva had in him.

As McGonagall looked at Sirius' daughter, she made a swore to herself, that no matter what it cost her, she would see to it that the daughter of the student she once loved and trusted would not walk on the path that he had walked on. She would do her level best to ensure that Acquila Black would side with the light and not the dark, and would be what Sirius would have been had he not switched on to the dark side- courageous, fearless, someone who stuck to his word, and above all someone who would remain loyal to the Light until the end.

Clearing her head of these thoughts, McGonagall asked, "Mrs. Smith, can I talk to Acquila in private?"

"Sure. Why not! Acquila, please take Ms. McGonagall to your room."

"I would prefer to take a walk with her in the garden."

"Sure."

As Acquila led the woman to the garden, she wondered why the lady wanted to talk to her in private. Couldn't she have spoken in front of Mrs. Smith?

"It's nice to see you, Ms. Black," said McGonagall.

Acquila's mouth fell open in surprise. "Ms. Black? But I do not have a last name. Maybe you are looking for some other Acquila. I am not Ms. Black. I am Acquila, just Acquila."

"Well, you are not 'just Acquila'. You are Acquilla Dorea Black, daughter of Sirius and Athena Black."

"You knew my parents?"Acquila explained, her eyes displaying a strange mixture of longing and curiosity.

"Yes, Ms. Black. I knew them quite well. I taught them at school for seven years.""You were their teacher! So I am going to study in their school!"

"Yes, you are. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"

"Witchcraft? No! I am not a witch!" said an outraged Acquila, "I know what witches do! They drown children in enormous cauldrons and eat them up! I am not a witch! Leave me alone!"

"Ms. Black! Witches do no such things. How can…"

"Oh God! Are you a witch? You are! And you're here to gobble me up!" shrieked Acquila.

"Calm down! Ms. Black… Acquila! I am here to do no such thing."

Realising that the lady would have harmed her by now if she really wanted to, Acquilla tried to control her fear and anger.

"The idea that you have of witches is ridiculous! Who told you all that?"

"I read it! In Hansel and Gretel."

"Hansel and Gretel?"

"You don't know Hansel and Gretel? It's a fairy tale!"

"Oh Merlin! Muggles and their fairy tales" McGonagall muttered.

"Muggles?" asked a confused Acquila.

"Muggles are non magic people. Unlike us, they do not have a magical core. So they cannot use magic."

"You mean I can do magic? Real magic?" exclaimed Acquila.

"Oh yes, you can. And that's why you are going to learn at Hogwarts where we teach children to gain better control over their magic."

"But you said my parents went to Hogwarts. Does that mean that they were magical too?"

"Yes, my dear. Sirius and Athena Black were two of the best students I taught"

"Sirius and Athena?" said and awed Acquila, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

"Did they... die? Is that why I am at the orphanage?" she asked, a solitary tear sliding down her cheek at the thought of the parents she never knew.

McGonagall's face fell."Yes. Athena is no more."

"And my dad? Sirius?"

Minerva didn't have the heart to tell the child that her father was languishing in jail and had probably had a hand in the killing of her mother.

"Ms. Black, so do I assume that you will be attending Hogwarts?" she asked her, veering the conversation to safer pastures.

"Oh yes. I will" smiled Acquila.

McGonagall avoiding the topic of her father had not gone unnoticed by Acquila. But as she knew that she herself did not like to be forced to answer question she didn't want to, she decided to extend the same courtesy to the lady before her. She would find out about her father on her own.

She took a photograph out of her pocket and showed it to McGongall. "These were my parents?" she asked the lady pointing to Sirius and Athena in the photograph.

McGonagall's face suddenly softened. "Yes. They were your parents."

"And the couple next to them?"

McGongall's face suddenly gained a very pained look, as if thinking of the other couple gave her a lot of sorrow. "They are no more. They were killed by You-know-who."

"I know who?" Acquila was confused.

"Well, there was a dark wizard who wanted to take over the wizarding world. We do not utter his name. So people refer to him as you know who or he who must not be named.. He was finally destroyed in 1981 by a small boy."

Before Acquila could ask why the man with messy hair in the photograph resembled Harry, the lady said, "We're losing time, Acquila. We have to leave soon or we will miss the portkey."

As Acquila tried to open her mouth to ask McGonagall what a 'portkey' was, the deputy headmistress said, "Ms. Black, this is your Hogwarts letter," and handed over an envelope to Acquila.

_Ms. Acquila Black_  
_The King Edward VII Home for orphaned children,_  
_Surrey_

She opened the envelope and started reading the parchment within it, on which was written in green ink:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY  
HEADMASTER- ALBUS DUMBLEDORE  
(ORDER OF MERLIN FIRST CLASS, GRAND SORC., CHF. WARLOCK, SUPREME MUGWUMP, INTERNATIONAL CONFED. OF WIZARDS)

_Dear Ms. Black,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31st July._

_Yours sincerely,_  
_Minerva McGonagall_  
_Deputy Headmistress_

Acquila's eyes widened in surprise. Whatever doubts she had about the veracity of the woman's claims had vanished when she read the letter. She saw a long list of books and equipment in the envelope.

"Where do I buy all this from? And I do not have money for it."

"We'll go to Diagon Alley now; that's where we can buy the things mentioned. And as for money, you do not need to worry, Ms. Black. You have an enormous amount of money at Gringotts, the wizarding bank."

Acquila's shock knew no bounds. "I have a lot of money?"

"Oh yes. You will inherit the Black family fortune. As for the fortune from your mother's side of the family, the McKinnons, Alastor Moody currently owns it, though he is waiting to hand it over to you, the rightful owner. I daresay you are rich enough for three of your following generations to live in luxury without having to work for a living."

Acquila was speechless with surpise.

"So shall we make a move to Diagon Alley, Ms. Black?"

"Yes, Ma'm."

"If you could hold on tightly to this can of cola, we shall proceed."

"I hold on to this?"

"Yes, do not let go of it till we touch land."

Acquila held on to can at the same time as McGonagall did. A moment later, she felt a tug somewhere behind her navel and then suddenly, her feet touched ground again. They had landed in a grubby-looking pub. She noticed that the people walking on the road did not seem to be able to see the pub at all. McGonagall let her out into a small walled courtyard. Acquila noticed the people in the pub staring at her with what looked like disbelief and fear.

McGonagall touched a few of the bricks in the wall and amazingly a hole appeared in the wall, the hole grew wider and wider till it formed an archway on to a twisting cobbled street."First, we shall go to visit your vault in Gringotts."They entered the wizarding bank. Ten minutes and a vomit-inducing cart ride later, Acquila, McGonagall and Gornuk, the goblin assigned to Acquila stood in front of an enormous vault. McGonagall had already given the key to the vault to Gornuk, Dumbledore had retrieved it from the Black residence after Athena's death.  
As the goblin opened the vault, Acquila's eyes widened to their furthest limit. There were piles and piles of galleons, thousands of sickles and a multitude of knuts lying in the vault. In addition to the coins, the value of which McGonagall had explained to her earlier, there were innumerable pieces of jewellery- ornate necklaces, diamond tiaras, gleaming earrings, rings of sapphires. Acquila was flabbergasted looking at the amount of wealth in the vault. She tried to touch a ring lying on top of the coins to put it on her hand, but McGonagall stopped her. "I would advise you not to touch any of the things here other than the coins, Ms. Black. I must admit to you that your family practiced dark magic, magic which can hurt people. I do not know whether there are any dark curses on the artifacts in the vault. So until professor Dumbledore looks into the matter and ensures that all everything here is free of dark magic, refrain from touching anything."

"Professor Dumbledore?" enquired Acquila.

"He's the headmaster of Hogwarts. And one of the greatest wizards I know."

"Oh!"

Acquila filled up the bag which McGonagall gave her with fistfuls of coins.

"Shall we leave, Ms. Black?"

"Yes, madam."

"You may call me professor McGonagall since I am going to be your transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts."

"Transfiguration?"

"Transfiguration is a branch of magic that focuses on the alteration of the form or appearance of an object, via the alteration of the object's molecular structure. You will learn about it in more detail at school."

"That sounds really interesting, professor."

"Oh yes, it is. I hope you have the same talent at it as your father..." McGonagall trailed off, realising that she shouldn't have mentioned Sirius.

Catching on to Minerva's reluctance to talk of Sirius, Acquila wisely changed the topic.  
"So my family did dark magic? Is that..." she faltered, suddenly realising something, "is that why that book hit that boy in the face when he tried to snatch it from my hand?"

"Oh no, Ms. Black. That was just accidental magic. Young witches and wizards perform magic inadvertently. That is not dark magic." she assured Acquila who breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Your father's side of the family, the Blacks did practice dark magic. Your mother's family, the McKinnons did not. And you can chose you own path, Ms. Black. Your family's beliefs should not affect your life. I hope you do not walk the path that the Blacks followed."

"No professor. I would never use my magic to willingly hurt someone."

"I'm glad." replied McGonagall, inwardly thanking her stars that Acquila's inner nature seemed to be more like Athena's than that of the Blacks.

"Can I ask you something professor?"

"Yes, Ms. Black. I am here to answer all your questions about the magical world."

"I wanted to ask you about my family. Did they... did they hate me? Is that why none of my relatives wanted to take me in after my parents passed away? Is that why I had to live in an orphanage?" she asked in a suddenly morose voice.

"No! It isn't so, Ms. Black. Your mother's families, the McKinnons are no more. They were killed by followers of He-who-must-not-be-named. As for your father's family, professor Dumbledore has forbidden me to tell you the entire details. All I can say is that most of your father's relatives were followers of the You-know-who. And believe me, Ms. Black, you were better off living at the orphanage that live with people like the Malfoys."

'Malfoys'. Acquila resolved to remember the name and find out all about her relatives. If McGonagall wasn't forthcoming about information, Acquila would find out information on her own. She felt unwanted. She had spent ten years believing that she had no family. And discovering that she had relatives who didn't even care enough to even ascertain Acquila's whereabouts made her feel betrayed. McGonagall said the Malfoys weren't exactly good people. So she would find out whether she did have relatives other than them and question them as to why they never even bothered to contact her over the past ten years.

As they exited Gringotts, Acquila saw a couple walking past them. Both of them had blonde hair and eyes which seemed cold and heartless. The man nodded to McGonagall, but the woman stared at Acquila as if she had just seen a ghost. As she was about to ask McGonagall why the lady seemed shocked at seeing Acquila, McGonagall said in a disdainful tone, "They were the Malfoys. Narcissa and was rumoured to be a deatheater, a follower of You-know-who; while Narcissa was Sirius' first cousin. Mark my words, Acquila. You would do well to be as far away from the Malfoys as you can. Their son Draco, your cousin will be in your year at school. I generally am not judgmental about people before I meet them, but I am quite sure that getting close to Draco will do you no good. So, please pay heed to what I say."

"I will remember what you said, professor."

"Good. Now we will go to buy you a wand. At Mr. Ollivander's shop."

Acquila's eyes twinkled with excitementat the thought of owning a real wand and they started walikg towards Ollivander's shop.

...

Lucius Malfoy had known Narcissa since she was a young ten year old. Children of the ancient pureblood families tended to move in the same social circle. So all the pureblood children knew each other quite well, having often met at pureblood balls and social gatherings.

Even when Narcissa was a mere girl of ten, she walked gracefully, her back erect, confidence showing in her eyes, her face displaying a certain haughtiness which was a characteristic of most Blacks. Her mother Druella Black, formerly Druella Rosier, had brought up her daughters with all the qualities befitting a daughter of the House of Black. And Narcissa had thoroughly entrenched within herself one of the most important qualities-a daughter of the House of Black never put her emotions on display for all to see. Her face never depicted her thoughts and feelings. She always maintained a straight face no matter what the situation. And in all the years since their wedding, Lucius had seen her drop her mask only twice. The first time was the day Draco was born. Narcissa's face had been shining with undisguised happiness. He had actually seen a tear drop out of her eye when she first held their tiny bundle of joy in their arms. The second time was when he brought her the news that Bellatrix had been taken to Azkaban. Losing another sister had lead to Narcissa crumpling down to the ground, trying to control her tears. The Black sisters had been close since childhood. And when Andromeda had run off with the muggleborn, Narcissa had still dealt with it knowing that Bellatrix would never betray the family and abandon her like Andromeda had. Losing Bella had made Narcissa realise that she was the only one of Cygnus Black's three daughters left; she was all alone. Never again had Narcissa shown any emotion on her face.

Which is why when he saw Narcissa's eyes wide and mouth open with unhidden disbelief, Lucius wondered what the matter was. Narcissa displaying an emotion meant that something momentous had occured.

"What is the matter, Narcissa?" he asked her.

Realising that he had seen the shock on her face, she schooled her features into her usual facade. "Did you see the girl with McGonagall?"

"I do not lower myself by glancing at whichever mudblood that lady accompanies, dear," he drawled.

"She was a spitting image of Sirius."

"You must be mistaken, Narcissa. Or maybe it was someone who coincidentally looked a bit like your blood traitor cousin."

"It was a Black. And Blacks do not make mistakes. I am very much sure that the girl is related to Sirius. She is probably his daughter. And its no coincidence. The Black features cannot exist on a common mudblood. Her black hair, grey eyes just like Sirius, her jawline, the way she unconsciously walked with inbred grace; I have no doubt that she is indeed a Black. And she is Sirius' daughter."

"Narcissa, you know as well as I do that he had only one daughter. And she is dead. Acquila's corpse was discovered by the aurors. My sources had confirmed that it was indeed her body. Unless..." he trailed off, his mind whirring with thoughts. "Unless, he bore a child through another woman, someone other than his wife."

"That is impossible, Lucius. Sirius worshipped the very ground his wife walked on. He would rather die than have relations with someone other that the McKinnon girl. I have seen them since they started dating at Hogwarts. He would never sire a child with another woman."

"If you are so sure of this, it means that this girl was the daughter of Sirius and McKinnon. But their daughter was dead. Did she have a twin perhaps?"

"No, Lucius. They had just the one girl. Healer Jones who helped deliver the girl had told me. They had just one daughter."

"This means that Acquila Black is alive. But where was she all these years? Why was she wearing those filthy muggle clothes? I need to get to the bottom of this."

"You are right. The girl was Acquila..." Narcissa trailed off, still trying to digest the fact.

"Narcissa, you do realise that the girl poses a threat to Draco's Black inheritance?"

"Yes. I do."

"I am not going to let some girl who turns up ten years after she is declared dead to take over the wealth and title meant for Draco, even if that girl is Sirius' daughter!" Lucius exclaimed vehemently.

"Now let us make the withdrawal and discuss the further steps to be taken when we get back to the Manor, Lucius" said Narcissa, leading him inside Gringotts.

...

As Acquila and Prof. McGonagall entered the ancient shop, the proprietor of the shop stepped out to meet them. He was a white haired man with eyes which were a pale silver in colour.

He stared at Acquila with surprise. "Is this who I think it is, Ms. McGonagall?" he asked the older lady.

"This is Acquila Black."

"Oh my! It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Black. I did not expect to see you here, considering you were declared dead."

"Dead?"Acquila looked at McGonagall.  
"Professor Dumbledore will explain all about it to you, Ms. Black. Now let us accomplish what we had come here for."

As a measuring tape started measuring Acquila on its own, she asked the wandmaker, "How will you decide which wand will suit me? Or do I get to choose my own wand?"

"No, Ms. Black, the wand choses the wizard!"

"How can the wand choose the wizard? Wands are inanimate. You talk of wands as if they have thoughts and feelings!"

"Wands choose the wizard or witch in a way that is neither random, nor serendipitous. Wandlore, the study of wands is an ancient, complex, and mysterious branch of magic. Try this wand Ms. Black, eight and a half inches, dragon heartstring, blackthorn." And he handed her a wand.

"Dragon heartstring?" asked Acquila.

"It's the core material of the wand. The core of a wand is a magical substance placed within inside the length of wood. They are usually bits extracted from some sort of Magical Being or Creature. The core of this wand is made from the heart string of a Hungarian Horn-tail."

"Why dragon heartstring?" asked Acquila as Ollivander took back the wand, realizing that it wouldn't work well for Acquila.

"Dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn quicker than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental."

"Wow!" explained an awed Acquila.

"Try this one. Thirteen and a half inches, Birch, Phoenix feather."

"Phoenix feather? You mean phoenixes exist!"

"Of course, Ms. Black" said McGonagall, "Phoenixes do exist; though they are rare. Professor Dumbledore has one."  
Acquila waved the wand and Ollivander took it away and replaced it in a box.

"Why phoenix feather?"

"You are quite an inquisitive customer, Ms. Black. Very few witches and wizards at your age are as curious as you are; quite like your mother.

"My mother! Which wand did she have?"

"Ten inches, birchwood, with a core made of unicorn hair."

"And the qualities of Unicorn hair?"

"Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard."

"Oh! Which wand did my father have?" asked Acquila. McGonagall seemed displeased."He had a fourteen inch wand made of maple. And it contained a tail hair of a thestral. And before you ask me, Thestral tail hairs are very rare. The only people who can see thestrals are those who have seen death. A wand having a thestral tail hair can only be mastered by a wizard capable of facing death. Your father, Sirius…"

"Mr. Ollivander, you were telling Acquila about Phoenix feathers," McGonagall cut him off.

"Oh yes! Phoenix feather is one of the rarest core types. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn hair or dragon heartstring cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike. Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won. And now getting back to the task at hand, I think I have the right wand for you!"

He took a wand out of an ancient-looking box. "Ten and a half inches, made of ebony and containing dragon heartstring; more specifically, the heartstring of a Swedish Short-snout."

As soon as Acquila touched the wand, she felt a sudden warmth in her fingers. She flicked the wand a bit and purple and gold sparks shot out of it like fireworks. She smiled, happiness and awe clearly reflecting in her eyes.

"Ah! Indeed! Well, well we must expect great things from you, Ms. Black." Mr. Ollivander said.

Acquila thanked Mr. Ollivander for satisfying her curiosity about wandlore and paid 10 galleons for the wand before they set out for the apothecary.

The apothecary smelled horrible but still it was fascinating. There were around a hundered jars filled with ingredients like feathers, fangs, claws, strange slimy stuff, bright coloured powders and a lot of weird things which Acquila couldn't recognise. They bought a pewter cauldron and the basic potion ingredients. Their next. stop was at 'Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions'. After fitting the long black robes to her size they left for Florish and Botts.

"Does everyone have the same coloured robes and ties?" Acquila asked inquisitively.

"No, Ms. Black. The robes are all black but ties are according to your houses." McGonagall answered.

"There are houses at Hogwarts? Which house will I be in?"

"That will be decided when you reach school. And no more questions about the sorting now. Let us leave that for when you reach Hogwarts."

"I can't wait to get to school." Acquila said excitedly.

As they stepped into Flourish and Botts, Acquila was astonished at the sheer number of books available there. Apart from her school books she bought numerous other books to read. She was curious to learn about this wizarding world which she now belonged to. She reached a section which held books on wizarding wars. She glanced at the titles-Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Art and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century. Just ask Acquila was about to reach out to 'Rise and Fall of the Dark arts', McGonagall stopped her. Minerva knew that most of the books might contain a mention of Sirius Black. And she did not want Acquila to know of her father's crimes in this manner.

"You are too young to read such books, Ms. Black. I would advise you not to buy them now."

Acquila reluctantly agreed, thinking that she might get some information on wizarding wars at the school library.

Looking at Acquila pilling on book after book reminded Mcgonagall of Athena. She smiled to herself. Though Acquila was a spitting image of Sirius, she seemed to have taken after Athena in the knowledge department.

As they exited the book shop, Acquila put all her purchases in the trunk which McGonagall had conjured for her.

"You do want a pet to take to school, don't you?"Mcgonagall asked.

"Of course," said Acquila, eager to see the pets of the wizarding world.

"Good. So we now move on to Magical Menagerie. You can only take a cat, a toad or an owl to Hogwarts."

"Oh! Alright."

They entered the shop and Acquila was surprised to see a wide range of animals there. Acquila definitely did not want a toad. She debated with herself about buying a cat or an owl and then finally decided to consult Professor McGonagall.

"Why do wizards have owl as pets?"

"They are used to deliver letters and parcels. That is how we communicate."

"You can always use the telephone. It's simpler and faster."

"Yes, but muggle equipments don't work in the Castle of Hogwarts. Too much of magical energy interferes with the working of the equipment."

"Oh!"

"If you don't want to buy an owl it's alright. You can always borrow the school owls from the Owlery at Hogwarts. And I would personally suggest you buy a cat, though I admit my suggestion may be a bit biased because I myself am partial to cats."

"I like cats too, Professor. So a cat it is then!"

She then started looking for cats. There were cats of all kinds- white cats, brown cats, spotted cats, cats with zebra stripes. There was even an ugly orange one with a squashed face which was the size of a small lion. Then she came upon a cat with sparkling green eyes and fur that was as black as night. The green eyes of the cat reminded Acquila of Harry's emerald green eyes and she immediately decided to buy the cat.

As she paid the shopkeeper for the cat, he asked her, "Have you decided on a name for the cat, child?"

"Oh no! I haven't."

She thought about a name for a few minutes but couldn't come up with one.

"May I suggest a name?" asked professor McGonagall.

"Sure, Professor."

"How about Nyx? She was the Greek Goddess of night and since the cat is black, the name will suit her."

"I love it, Professor. Nyx it is."

"You have chosen a cat which is part-kneazle. Three of her grandparents were kneazles!" The shopkeeper informed her.

"Kneazle?"

"A Kneazle is a magical feline creature related to, and similar in appearance to, a cat. They make excellent pets if they like a witch or wizard. They have a very high level of intelligence, are independent and occasionally aggressive, and have an uncanny ability to detect suspicious and distrustful people. They can also safely guide their owner home," Professor McGonagall explained. "All in all, a good choice Ms. Black." she said as they exited the shop.

"I wanted to take you to visit Quality Quiddich Supplies, but Mrs. Smith at the orphanage must be awaiting you return. So we will proceed to Surrey."

A few minutes later they were at the gates of the orphanage, with Nyx in Acquila's arms.

"Remember, you are not to tell anyone about this. The Ministry of Magic has a Statute of Secrecy in place. It is against the law to tell any muggle about us." Professor McGonagall said.

"There is a Ministry of Magic!" Acquila said, surprised.

"Of course there is. It is just like the muggle government. And one more thing, I have charmed all your school items to look like ordinary muggle stuff so that no one at your orphanage has a doubt. Also, don't use your wand. Children are not allowed to use magic outside school." Acquila nodded her head.

"Here is your ticket for The Hogwarts Express." The professor handed her the ticket.

"Kings Cross Station, Platform 9 ¾." Acquila read.

"But there is no Platform 9 ¾." She said in confusion.

"Yes, there is. I almost forgot to tell you this part. To get to the platform you have to walk straight into the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared or you'll crash into it. Best do it at a bit of a run if you are nervous." Mcgonagall said.

"Ok. But won't people notice?" Acquila asked.

"You have to do it when no one's looking. And make sure you reach on time."  
Acquila nodded her head.

"See you on the 1st of September, Ms. Black," McGonagall said to her and the next moment she had vanished with a loud crack.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews, guys! Finally, the Hogwarts chapter! Hope you like it :-) And the next chapter will have Sirius again! :-)

**Disclaimer: **I neither own the Harry Potter universe nor the characters except for Athena and Acquila, the rest belongs to J. K. Rowling. Recognizable parts of this chapter are excerpts from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

**Chapter 6: Hoggy Warty Hogwarts**

Lucius Malfoy paced around his study at Malfoy Manor. Narcissa was busy staring outside the window, though her mind seemed to be engrossed in her thoughts. It was when Lucius banged his fist on the ornate table which had been in his family since the sixteenth century that Narcissa finally looked up at him. She knew better than to ask her husband to talk to her about what was bothering him. He would tell her himself once his anger had cooled down to a relatively lower level.

"Where did that girl come from? Where was she all these years? I will not let Draco be cheated of his inheritance due to the brat of those two blood traitors!" he thundered.

"Unfortunately, as Sirius' only child, the title of Black and the entire fortune that goes with it will pass on to Acquila. She is the legal heiress. Now that she's alive, Draco will have no right to any of it. We can do nothing about it."

"So you expect me to just watch her taking away what is supposed to be Draco's? And how in the name of Slytherin did that wretched girl survive? She is supposed to be buried in the McKinnon family cemetery. I even tried to send Goyle there to verify whose corpse was buried there. But that imbecile Moody has erected all kinds of magical wards there. Goyle did not manage to even enter the cemetery. Now there is only one way to put this right. I am going to hunt down that girl and kill her."

"Do not be so hasty, Lucius. The girl lived incognito for ten years. You think you can find her out that easily? And you think people won't realise that we had her killed? The only people who can benefit from her death are us. And I'm sure that Dumbledore is just waiting for a reason to see you off to Azkaban. So unless you are prepared to live in a dingy cell surrounded by dementors, you will do no such thing as causing her any harm."

"So you plan to just sit on the sidelines as she takes over the Black fortune?"

"Oh no, Lucius. I am going to ensure that the Black family title, wealth and Grimmauld Place come into our hands. I am going to ensure that the girl marries Draco when he is of age. I will not let down my forefathers by letting the Black family title pass on to some mudblood or half-blood whom the girl may marry in future. Draco is going to charm her and see to it that the houses of Black and Malfoy are bound together for eternity. Draco will grow up to become the Head of the houses of Black, Malfoy and Gamp."

"You think the girl will agree to marry her second cousin? If she is anything like her father, she will refuse to wed Draco."

"Lucius, Sirius's own parents were second cousins. And I intend for Draco to befriend the girl. She can come and live with us during the vacations; and I will see to it that she becomes a true daughter of the House of Black. And Draco will marry her. She is a beautiful girl. And I am sure Draco would prefer marrying her than someone like that pug-faced Parkinson girl."

"I must say, Narcissa, you have come up with a wonderful way to deal with that nuisance of a girl. Now, I think we should have a talk with Draco about his future wife" Lucius smirked.

"Yes, Lucius," she responded, a satisfied gleam in her eyes.

"Draco!" he called out.

"I am coming, Father," came the answering reply and over the next ten minutes, a bewildered Draco was informed about the path his life was going to take in the coming future.

...

Finally, the day Acquila was eagerly waiting for had arrived. The 1st of September. Acquila walked into King's Cross station accompanied by Mrs. Smith. Waiting on platform 9, Acquila was thinking of ways to make Mrs. Smith leave so that she could go onto platform 9 ¾. Mrs. Smith thought the train was going to arrive at platform 9 as the ticket was charmed by Professor McGonagall to show 'Platform 9 ¾' as 'Platform 9' to any muggles who read the ticket.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Smith. I'll manage to get on the train. It's alright if you want to leave. Meggie must be waiting for you. Don't you have to take her to the doctor today?" Acquila said hoping that she would agree.

"Yes, dear, but I'm not going to leave till you get on the train. And I don't even see any students around. It's already 15 minutes to eleven. They should be here now. Are you sure it's platform 9? Let me see the ticket again." Mrs. Smith said, worried.

Suddenly, she heard Acquila gasp.

"What happened, my child?" She asked.

"That's Harry!" replied Acquila and ran in the direction she was pointing at.

As Harry walked on to the platform, wondering how to get on to platform 9 ¾, his vision was suddenly obscured by a black-haired girl running towards him. As he realized, it was Acquila, an extremely large grin graced his face. Acquila rushed into his arms, both of them hugging the other tightly.

"Oh Harry! I can't believe you are here! What are you doing here? Aren't you going to Stonewall High?" Acquila asked.

"Umm… Not really… I do want to tell you but I can't," Harry hesitated, not sure if he could tell her about Hogwarts, since he was supposed to keep the wizarding world a secret from muggles. He was trying to think up an explanation to give Acquila, when she noticed the snowy white owl that Harry was carrying. She remembered seeing it at Magical Menagerie and immediately realised that even Harry was coming to Hogwarts.

"You are coming to Hogwarts too, aren't you?" she squealed, excited at the prospect of having Harry at the same school as hers.

"Yes! You know about Hogwarts?" Harry said surprised."Of course, I do! I got the letter! I should have known you would come too. After all, we both can do magic! I'm so stupid! I should have thought of this earlier!"

"This is going to be so great! I'm so glad you'll be at Hogwarts too, Acquila!"

"Me too, Harry! I missed you so much!"

After their excitement had come down a notch, Harry asked her, "Do you have any idea how to get to platform 9 ¾?"

"Yes, I do. But we can't do it front of Mrs. Smith. Maybe she'll leave, now that you are here."

They walked to where Mrs. Smith was waiting with Acquila's trunk.

"Harry! How are you?" Mrs. Smith smiled at him.

"I'm fine, Ma'am!" Harry answered.

"Mrs. Smith, now that Harry is here it's alright if you leave. Or you won't reach in time for Meggie's appointment," Acquila told her.

"Alright. You both board the train properly. I can see many kids entering the station with trunks, like that big group of red heads. So, I guess you both will manage. And Acquila, do inform me when you reach the school."

"Yes, Ma'am! I'll miss you, Mrs. Smith!" Acquila hugged the older lady.

"I'll miss you too, dear. Have a nice term, children! And see you at Christmas, Acquila!" Mrs. Smith waved them a goodbye and walked towards the exit.

"Thank God! I thought she wouldn't leave till she saw me safely on the train," Acquila said with a sigh of relief.

"Where did the big group of redheads go?" wondered Harry, scanning the station for any sign of them.

"Through the barrier between platform 9 and 10! That's how we reach platform 9 ¾." Acquila said pointing at the barrier.

"We'll bang into it."

"Not if we run towards it."

Harry looked at Acquila as if she had gone crazy.

"Don't look at me like that! Trust me. We'll do it together."

Harry reluctantly agreed. Both of them stood beside each other, their trunks in front of them. After making sure no one was watching them, they ran into the barrier together. They passed it, as if it was nothing but air. As they emerged on the other side they saw a packed station bustling with children and their parents and a huge scarlet steam engine with the name 'Hogwarts Express'. Harry and Acquila looked at each other with excited smiles on their faces.

"Come on, Harry! Let's go soon! The train will leave in five minutes," Acquila said, taking Harry's hand and pulling him towards the train.  
The first few carriages were already packed. They finally found an empty compartment at the end of the train. Harry tried to lift his trunk up the steps of the train, but he couldn't."Want a hand?" asked one of the red headed kids they'd seen at the station.

"Yes, please," said Harry.

The red headed boy called out to his identical twin to help. Together they managed to get Harry and Acquila's trunks to their compartment.

"What are your names?" asked Acquila.

"I am Fred and he's George," one of the twins replied.

"Thanks for your help!" Harry said, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

"Is that…?" the boy named Fred exclaimed.

"I think it is." His twin George replied. Both of stared at Harry's forehead.

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"Your scar!" the twins said together.

"Yes" Harry said, getting even more confused.

"You are Harry Potter, aren't you?" the twins gasped together.

Acquila was shocked that they recognized Harry just by looking at his scar. But Harry wasn't as surprised. He had encountered several people like the twins during his trip to Diagon Alley. Before Acquila could clear her confusion regarding the situation someone called out to the twins. They looked at Harry one last time with awe and left the compartment.

"What was that all about? How did they know just by your scar?" Acquila asked.

"I was going to tell you anyway. You remember, I told you that my aunt said that my parents died in a car crash?" Harry asked.

"Yes, that's how you got your scar. But what has that got to do with this?"

"My aunt lied. They didn't die in a car crash. An evil wizard named Voldermort killed them. He tried to kill me too but somehow he couldn't. That is how I got this scar," he said, unconsciously touching his scar. "I'm the only one to have ever survived his attack. That's how people know me in this world. Even when I had gone to Diagon Alley, I got the same reactions from people."

"Oh, I am so sorry, Harry! How did you learn the truth? Did your aunt finally tell you when you got the letter?"

"No. They tried their level best to ensure that I couldn't get my hands on the letter. But on my birthday, Hagrid came and delivered it to me and explained it all. Hagrid is the keeper of the keys and the grounds at Hogwarts. He's really nice!"

"Oh! So you are the 'Boy-who-lived' whom Professor McGonagall was telling me about! At least, now you know the truth. You know, she knew my parents! She said my mom is no more," Acquila sadly.

"Oh! What about your father?"

"I asked her, but she avoided my questions each time. You'll help me find out about him, won't you?"

"Of course, I will."

Just then the compartment door slid open and another red headed boy came in. He looked younger than the twins.

"Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full." He asked.

Both Acquila and Harry nodded their heads. He took the seat next to Harry.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" the boy asked in awe.

"Yes." Harry replied.

"Oh! I thought Fred and George were joking again," Ron gave a small smile. "I'm Ron, Ron Weasley."

"You already know me, and this is Acquila." Harry said introducing Acquila to Ron.

"Acquila Black." She put in. Turning to Harry she said. "Professor McGonagall told me my surname too!"

" 'Black' as in the 'Most Ancient and Noble House of Black'? Pure-blood?" Ron asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yes," Acquila replied. "Why?"

"How are you friends with Harry Potter? You should be with the likes of Malfoy," Ron said distastefully.

Acquila did not like the way the boy was talking to her. "I have been friends with Harry since the past three years in school. You are no one to question our friendship," she said angrily.

Ron was momentarily shocked at her reply. After few moments he asked, "Which school? You studied in a muggle school? How is that possible? You are a Black! I've heard a lot about the Blacks, they would never send their children to a muggle school!"

"My parents are no more. I grew up in a muggle orphanage," Acquila replied.

"Oh! I'm Sorry!" said Ron, his ears reddening. "I didn't know."

"So, are all your family wizards?" Harry asked Ron to steer the topic away from Acquila's family.

The three of them spoke about each other's lives. Harry and Acquila were fascinated with Ron's family and their way of living just as much as Ron was fascinated to hear about their muggle ways of life. Ron was still skeptical about Acquila but he thought if she was friends with the great Harry Potter, she might not be as bad as the rest of her family were known to be.

"Harry! What have you named your owl?"

"Hedwig!"

"That's a nice name. I named my cat Nyx, for the Greek Goddess of darkness."

Ron took out a fat grey rat which was asleep, from his pocket and showed it to them.

"This is Scabbers! I got him from my elder brother Percy. He's Prefect now, so he got a brand new owl and I got his rat."

Just when Ron was about to put his rat back inside his pocket, Nyx pounced on it and tried to snatch the rat from Ron. The rat which was now awake was trying very hard to escape from Ron's clutches, but Ron was holding on to it tightly and trying to shoo the cat away.

"Take this cat off of me!" Ron screamed.

"Nyx! Nyx! Leave him, Nyx!" Acquila shouted, trying to pry the part-kneazle off Scabbers and Ron.

Finally, few moments later Acquila and Harry had managed to get Nyx off Ron and Scabbers was safely tucked away into Ron's pocket.

"Your cat tried to kill Scabbers!" Ron snarled, "Keep it away from me."

"I'm sorry! She isn't like this generally," Acquila explained, but Ron did not seem to believe her. He couldn't help but think that she had done it purposely.

"Bloody Black Cat!" he grumbled under his breath.

Just then, dimpled women with a trolley slid open the door. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Ron muttered that he'd got sandwiches, so Acquila and Harry went to inspect the trolley. Both of them had never seen this wide a range of sweets. They couldn't decide which ones to buy so they took a little bit of everything. When they brought the sweets in, Ron stared at the quantity they had bought. He then took out his sandwiches and started eating.

Catching Ron staring at the sweets, Acquila said, "Have some if you want to!"

"No, it's alright." Ron answered.

"Go on, have some," Harry encouraged him.

Ron smiled and took some sweets. He offered his sandwiches to them and the three of them started gulping down the food hungrily.

"Are these really frogs?" Acquila asked, picking up a pack of Chocolate Frogs.

"No! Just enchanted chocolates shaped like frogs. But see what the card is, I'm missing Agrippa," Ron said.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Oh! Right! You won't know. Chocolate frogs have cards inside them, of famous wizards and witches. I have collected almost all except for Agrippa."

Acquila un-wrapped her frog and picked up the card. It showed an old fat woman who was wearing fancy robes. Underneath the picture was the name Bathilda Bagshot.

"She is the author of our textbook, A History of Magic." She said showing the picture to Harry and Ron.

"You have read the textbooks?" both Harry and Ron asked simultaneously.

"Of course! I was too curious about everything relating to the world of magic and couldn't resist reading," she answered.

Meanwhile Harry un-wrapped his packet and found a card which had the picture of a man wearing half-moon glasses, with a long crooked nose and flowing silver hair, beard and moustache. His name was Albus Dumbledore.

"So this is Dumbledore!" Harry exclaimed. He flipped his card and read.

"_Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragons blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner ,Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbeldore enjoys chamber music and ten-pin bowling._"

Acquila was listening to him interestedly. Harry turned his card and was surprised to find that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. But Acquila did not look surprised. Ron tried to explain to him but his mouth was too full of sweets, for Harry to understand what he was saying.

"In the wizarding world pictures move around. They don't stay still like in our world." Acquila explained."Oh! Looks like you read up a lot about this world. I know nothing." Harry said, worried that he would definitely be at that bottom of his class.

The three of them were having fun trying out the different flavours of Bertie Botts Every-Flavoured Beans, when a round-faced boy entered their compartment.  
"Sorry, but have any of you seen a toad? I lost mine."

"No. Sorry," Harry answered.

After the boy left Ron said, "Dunno why he's bothering so much. If I'd got a toad as a pet I would try to lose it as fast as I could. Well, I'm no one to say really, I got a rat along with me," he said pointing to his pocket where the rat was still asleep. "I actually tried a spell on him to make him yellow so that he is more interesting, but it didn't work. I can show you. But Acquila, promise me that your cat won't pounce on my rat."

"Don't worry. I'll hold onto her." Acquila said now excited to see a pulled Scabbers out of his pocket and placed him on the seat and pointed his wand at him. Just then, their compartment door slid open and it was the round faced boy again, but this time there was a girl who was already wearing her Hogwarts robes accompanying him.

"Has anyone seen Neville's toad?" she asked in a bossy voice. She had lots of bushy hair and large front teeth.

"We've already told him that we haven't seen him." Ron answered.

Looking at Ron she asked, "Are you trying to do a spell? Let's see it."

Ron uncertainly waved his hand and said  
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,  
turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

They all stared at the rat waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked, "I've tried a few spells just for practice and all of them have worked for me. I have read all the school books and also 'Hogwarts-A History'. It's the best school for learning witchcraft. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. Who are you?" She said all this in one breath.

Harry turned to Acquila and said, "She's sounds just like you," and then laughed. Acquila glared at him.

"I'm Ron Weasley." Ron answered Hermione. "Harry Potter." Harry said introducing himself.

"Oh! Are you really? Hermione said excitedly. "I've read all about you. You are mentioned in so many books."

Acquila did not like how excited Hermione was getting at meeting Harry so she cut her off by introducing herself, "I'm Acquila Black."

"You are Sirius Black's daughter, aren't you? I've read about your family too. But how is it possible? You were declared dead 10 years ago. And your dad…" Hermione stopped in mid sentence; she didn't think it was appropriate to mention Acquila's father.

"What about my dad?" Acquila asked wanting to know what Hermione knew about her father that she wasn't saying. Acquila felt irritated. Why did everyone avoid talking of her father?

Suddenly, the compartment door opened and three boys entered. The boy in the middle with pale blonde hair reminded her of the Malfoys whom she had seen in Diagon Alley.

"Is it true?" drawled the blonde boy, "They are saying it all down the train that Harry Potter is in this compartment. It's you, is it?" he asked, looking at Harry.

"Yes." Harry answered. He remembered seeing the boy at Madam Malkin's robe shop. The two boys standing on either side of the pale boy looked like his bodyguards; both of them were huge and looked really dumb.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle," he said carelessly pointing towards each of them."And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

As soon as he introduced himself, Acquila looked at him with much more interest. This was her cousin. This would be the first time ever that she would interact with a relative of hers. At the same time Ron gave a slight cough, trying to hide his snigger. Draco looked at him.

"Think my name is funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford."

He turned back to Harry and said, "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to be making friends with the wrong sort."

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself. Thanks." Harry replied coolly.

Looking at how the conversation was taking an unpleasant turn, Acquila understood why McGonagall had told her to keep distance from Draco. But she still wanted to know more about him as he was one of the few relatives she knew she had.

"Hi! I'm Acquila Black."

At the mention of her name Draco turned to look in her direction. He immediately realized that this was the girl his parents had talked to him about. At first when his parents had told him that he would have to befriend her, he was skeptical about it. But now that he saw how pretty she was. She had the classic Black family features, long eye-lashes, long black hair, and her grey eyes shone as she looked straight at him.

"You are as beautiful as my parents had described you to be!" he exclaimed, before he even realized what he had said.

Acquila blushed at his words. "Thank you! If I'm not wrong, you are my cousin, right?" she asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm really very pleased to meet you, Acquila!" Malfoy said with a charming smile.

"I am pleased to meet you too, Draco," replied Acquila.

Harry did not like the way Malfoy was looking at Acquila. He interrupted him saying, "That is enough, Malfoy! You are no more welcome in our compartment."

Acquila turned to Harry to berate him for his rudeness, when Draco spat at Harry, "I'd he careful if I were you Potter. Unless you are a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents."

"How dare you speak to Harry like this, Draco?" she snarled at Malfoy. "Harry was right. You aren't welcome here!"

"What is this I see? Black defending Potter? This is interesting. You shouldn't be hanging out with the likes of Weasley and Longbottom, Acquila," he said. "You belong to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. Do not be a disgrace to your family like certain other members were. I'm sure you'll see the error of your ways soon. And then you will stop being around mudbloods like her!" Draco told her, pointing at Hermione and stomped out of the compartment followed by his two friends.

At this both Ron and Neville gasped.

"What happened?" Hermione asked confused.

Neville refused to reply and Ron said, "You don't know?"

Hermione shook her head."What he called you, it's a disgusting thing to call someone...dirty blood. It's ridiculous. People like Malfoy use this term for people who are muggleborn. He shouldn't have said that," said Ron, trying to explain it to Hermione, Harry and Acquila.

As soon as Acquila understood what Ron was trying to say, she was disgusted with Malfoy. She promised herself that she would stay away from Draco. Professor McGonagall was right. She would be better off without Draco.

"Oh God! Are people here biased if you have non-magical parents? I never thought about it." Hermione asked Ron in a small voice, scared that people would avoid her because she was muggleborn.

"Umm.. Not everyone.. Generally it doesn't matter to anyone if you are muggleborn or not, except for people like Malfoy. You have nothing to worry," Ron assured her.

"Ok." She said, still a bit unsure. "You guys need to change into school robes we are almost there."

Turning to Ron, Hermione said, "And you've got dirt on your nose," and she left, followed by Neville.

They changed into their robes and waited for their destination to come. Finally, after a few minutes the train started to slow down and finally stopped. They stepped out into the cold night, nervous about what was awaiting them. Harry heard a familiar voice:

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! Alright there, Harry?" Hagrid's hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "C'mon, follow me – any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now!"

"That's Hagrid!" Harry told Acquila and followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path. A thick forest was surrounding them.  
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec." Hagrid told the excited first years.  
And just as they turned a corner, a majestic castle came into sight. It was on the other side of the huge lake. Harry and Acquila looked at each other and smiled, excitement and awe twinkling in their eyes.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing at a fleet of boats resting at the shore. When Harry and Acquila were boarding a boat a voice called out to her.

"Acquila!" Malfoy called out from a boat which was occupied by him and Crabbe and Goyle. "Come and join us," he said inviting her to sit with them.

She shook her head and boarded a boat with Harry, closely followed by Ron and Neville. Just as Neville was beginning to climb into the boat he was shoved aside by Malfoy. Draco came and sat in front of Acquila and smirked at her. She glared at him and turned her head away from him. Harry seemed to be even angrier than Acquila, he didn't like the way Malfoy behaved with Acquila.

When the boat started to glide across the lake, Draco said, " Isn't the castle beautiful?"

No one attempted to reply. "Oh, come on, Acquila. You can't spend the entire year ignoring me. We're cousins. We're family!"

Acquila nodded at him, but did not make an effort to make any conversation with Draco. So he tried to get her to talk to him.  
"Which house do you want to be in? I'm definitely going to be in Slytherin. All of my family was in Slytherin. I'm sure you'll be in Slytherin too, just like a true the Blacks were in Slytherin too, except of course, your father. He was in Gryffindor, just like Weasley here, and the rest of his family, all blood-traitors." He said with a sneer.

At the mention of her father Acquila looked towards Malfoy, but just as she was about to ask Malfoy about Sirius, Ron screamed, "Say that again!"

"Oh! Are you going to fight me?" Malfoy taunted.

"Unless you leave us alone." Harry said.

"You leave my cousin alone, Potter!" Draco yelled at Harry.

Just as a fight was about to break out between the three boys, their boat bumped to a stop at the shore. They clambered out onto the rocks glaring at each other. Acquila pulled Harry into the crowd to get away from Malfoy and Ron quickly followed suit.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid asked a sulking Neville.

"Trevor!" cried Neville bilissfully, holding out his hands.

Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last on to smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

As the door swung open, they saw a tall, black-haired witch standing there.

"That's Professor McGonagall!" exclaimed Acquila.

"And how do you know that, Black? Ms. Pure-Blooded-Know-It-All showing off..." said Ron venomously, his anger at Malfoy finding an outlet in Acquila.

Before either Harry or Acquila could react, Draco intervened, "How dare you talk to her like this, Weasley?! Blood traitors like you have no right to raise your voices against those of higher blood!"

"That's enough! At Hogwarts, we do not discriminate between students on the basis of their blood. If anyone here thinks otherwise, you are free to leave right now. And this applies to both of you, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley!"

All the students fell silent after that though Draco and Ron gave each other a menacing glare.

"Is that clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" the students chorused.

"Good. Now follow me."

They followed McGonagall across the stone floor. All the while, Harry's mind was overflowing with thoughts. He did not like Draco Malfoy at all. Why did he keep trying to act all friendly towards Acquila? Why did he have to defend her before Harry could? So what if Malfoy was Acquila's cousin? Harry knew Acquila a lot better and for longer than Malfoy did!

He stopped his train of thoughts as McGonagall led them into an empty chamber and addressed the students. She explained all about the four houses- Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin- and about the house points and the House Cup.

'The sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

A lot of the students started adjusting their robes and cloaks. But Acquila's eyes were twinkling with mirth as all her attention was concentrated on Harry as he miserably failed at attempting to flatten his messy hair.

The students started nervously discussing how they would be sorted into houses. But Harry and Acquila were oblivious to it all as they stood busy talking to each other.

"I don't want to be in Mafloy's house, Harry! What if I end up in Slytherin with him? He said all my father's family except my father were in Slytherin."

"Don't worry, Acquila. If you're put in Malfoy's house, I'll somehow end up in Slytherin too. I don't care how bad being a Slytherin is. If you're in Slytherin with Malfoy, I'll be in it too, I promise. I'll protect you from him."

"Hey! I can take care of myself! I don't need protection!" she stuck her tongue out at him.

"I know," Harry replied. But I want to be in whichever house you are. I don't like being away from you, Acquila. I missed you so much the last few days."

"I missed you too, Harry. And if you're sorted first, I'll be in your house too, I promise."

Just as Harry was about to reply, a few ghosts came in through the walls, putting an end to their talk as they stared at the ghosts in awe.

Professor McGonagall returned in a few minutes, and let them into a hall. Harry and Acquila gaped open-mouthed at the hall, the floating candles and the students who were sitting on the four house tables. As they looked up, they could see a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside" whispered Acquila and Hermione together. The students around them giggled, but Hermione just glared at Acquila.

They all then saw a four-legged stool with a hat placed on it. As Harry and Acquila debated whether they had to pull a rabbit out of the hat, they noticed the entire hall staring at the hat. They stared at it too and suddenly the hat twitched, a rip opened wide like a mouth near its brim and it began to sing:

_Oh,you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your tops hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell brave of heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achive their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And you won't get in a flap!_

_You're safe in my hands(though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

The whole hall burst into a thunderous applause as Harry and Acquila heaved a sigh of relief realizing that they just had to put on the hat to get sorted into houses.

"When I call on your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," said Professor McGonagall.

"Abbot, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pig-tails put on the hat which fell right over her eyes.

"Hufflepuff" said the hat as Hannah walked on towards the Hufflepuff table amidst applause.

For years and years, Acquila had wanted to know which family she belonged to, what her surname was and she was finally delighted to know that she was a Black. But today, she wished it was anything other than Black. She wanted to be sorted after Harry was, so that she could somehow convince the Hat to sort her into the same house as him. But now, since the students were being called out alphabetically, she was sure she would be one of the first names to be called out.

And if she was going to be called before Harry, she decided that she would prefer being placed in a house which would encourage her quest for knowledge. And as per the Hat, that house would be Ravenclaw. As she was lost in thoughts, she felt Harry nudge her urgently. "Acquila! Go! She called out your name!"And that was when she noticed the students whispering among themselves. Most of them had a shocked look on their face. She could even hear some of the things they were whispering.

"Black! She's Sirius Black's daughter!"

"How can they even allow her at Hogwarts!"

"I'm sure she's as bad as her family"

"She'll be in Slytherin! Just like her most of her family!"

She was dazed. Why were they talking about her as if she was some dark witch? How did it matter what her family was?

"Ms. Black," she heard professor McGonagall saying to her; her face had suddenly softened. "Please come here Ms. Black. We have to get on with the Sorting."

She moved forward, overtly conscious of all the stares and glares that were being directed at her. She sat on the stool and placed the Hat on her head and the next second, she was looking at the inside of the hat and not the students staring at her.

"Oh my! Ms. Acquila Black! I never thought I would be sorting you! It's not every day that I get to sort a girl who was supposed to be dead!" the Hat chucked.

Before she could reply, it continued, "Ah! You have quite the thirst for knowledge. And what's this I see? Cunning! And shrewdness! Just like a Black. Thankfully, no signs of future insanity like your grandmother or your Aunt Bellatrix! That must be due to the lack of inbreeding" it chuckled again.

"Your parents weren't as closely related as most purebloods are! So, which house do I put you in? I think it should be Slytherin. You'll make a perfect Slytherin..."

"No. Not Slytherin! I am not going to be in Slytherin!" she told the Hat.

"Not Slytherin? Are you sure?"

"Yes. I want to be in a house which can help me further my knowledge. Maybe Ravenclaw," she told the hat through her thoughts.

…..

As the hall waited for what seemed like an eternity for the hat to sort Acquila, at the table where the teachers were seated, a conversation was in progress between Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

"Why did you not tell me that Acquila Black is alive? I know you had a hand in keeping her hidden all these years. Do you not trust me, Dumbledore?"

"It's not a matter of trust, Severus. Sometimes, certain matters need to be kept hidden for the greater good."

"Greater good!" Snape almost snorted; but realising that talking of that matter was of no good now, he proceeded to talk of what was irking him.

"Why do you think the Hat is taking so long? Merlin forbid the girl ends up in Slytherin!" Snape hissed.

"She would be a great asset to whichever house she is sorted into, Severus. Will you not want to have a student who will bring glory to your house?" Dumbledore replied.

"She is Black's daughter! Black, who almost had me killed. You think I want her in my house, no matter how good she is? If she is even a bit like how her imbecile father was, I am sure she and Potter's brat will continue their fathers' tradition of playing pranks and putting their fellow students' lives in danger. And if she's in Slytherin, how am I even supposed to deduct points from my own house for her pranks?"

Dumbledore chuckled silently, "Don't worry, Severus. From what Minerva has deduced from her interaction with the child, I am almost certain that she will be sorted into Ravenclaw. She has her mother's intelligence and wisdom."

…..

"Ravenclaw? You would make quite a good Ravenclaw, just like your mother was. It will help you quench your thirst for knowledge and knowing the unknown. But no, I cannot put you in Ravenclaw. Beneath your intelligence and cunningness, I see a whole lot of courage."

"Courage? I am not courageous!'

"Oh! You are! When something threatens the people you love, you will possess more courage than you ever thought was possible. Your fearlessness and courage is going to play an important part in not just your life, but also that of the one who is bound to you, Ms. Black. So, just like your father, I am going to place you in GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat had shouted out the 'Gryffindor' for the entire hall to hear.

But unlike for Hannah Abbot, there was no applause. Instead, the hall was filled with mutters and whispers. Acquila placed the hat back onto the stool and started walking towards the Gryffindor table, immensely aware that not a single person in the hall was clapping for her.

That was when she heard the sound of three pairs of hands clapping- Harry, McGonagall and Dumbledore. The rest of the hall gradually joined in with half-hearted claps.

As Acquila looked around, she could see Harry smiling at her and Draco glaring at the sorting hat as if glaring could make it change its decision. McGonagall gave her an almost unnoticeable smile. The headmaster was smiling at her, while the greasy-haired professor next to him was glaring at her as if she had done him a personal wrong. The Slytherin students were looking angry and disappointed at the same time. And surprisingly, most of the Gryffindors had the same expressions as that of the Slytherins.

Acquila dejectedly realised that none of the Gryffindors wanted her in their house. In a corner of her heart, she repented asking the Hat to not put her into Slytherin. The Slytherins would probably have been more accepting of her according to what Draco had told her in the train. She remembered her lonely days at the orphanage where no one talked to her just because she was different. When McGonagall had told her about Hogwarts, it was possibly the happiest day of Acquila's life knowing that at Hogwarts, all the students would be just like her and she would finally have friends. But she had no such luck. Nothing had changed. At Hogwarts as well, she was an outcast; she was different. And the worst part was that she did not even know the reasons for it! The hat and some of the whispering students had mentioned her family's dark background. But how did that matter? She had never even met a single person of her family! So why should her family influence how the other students viewed her! How did it even matter? She wanted to lash out at the entire hall. Even the twins who had helped them with the luggage were glaring at her. A single tear slid down her face. Now all she could do was hope with all her heart that Harry would be in Gryffindor too. She quickly wiped off the solitary tear, but someone had noticed her crying.

Harry stood in the line of students waiting to be sorted, but his eyes were glued to Acquila. He had half a mind to run towards her and hug her tightly, tell her that everything would be alright, and that no matter what people said, he would stand by her side forever. He just couldn't bear to see her cry. Just as he was about to walk towards her, he saw the bushy-haired Hermione talking to her. He hadn't realized that Hermione had been sorted into Gryffindor too. He was too busy looking at Acquila to pay attention to the sorting. He hoped that Hermione could talk to Acquila. Though Hermione seemed like the typical know-it-all, Harry also thought that she was sensible. She would handle Acquila till Harry got sorted into his house. And he was determined that he would convince the Hat to place him in Gryffindor.

…..

"Hey! Acquila! What's wrong? Aren't you happy to be in Gryffindor? The sorting hat debated on putting me into Ravenclaw, but finally decided on Gryffindor!" Hermione said excitedly.

"Oh!" Acquila muttered half-heartedly."Which house do you think the boys will be sorted into?"

But before Acquila could reply, she heard McGonagall announce, "Malfoy, Draco!"

She looked up to see Draco put the hat on his head. The hat had barely touched his head, when it announced, "Slytherin!"

Draco walked off to the Slytherin table with a haughty grin on his face, but while passing by the Gryffindor table, he gave Acquila a small sad smile.

"You know what, Acquila, it doesn't matter what background you come from. From what I've noticed yet, witches and wizards can be quite intolerant of people on the basis of their families. We both are in a similar situation, Acquila. People might not like me because I come from a Muggle family. And people might not like you because you're from a Dark family. But it's up to us to change their perceptions of us, right; it's up to us to make people realise that we are good witches. And it won't do if we get bogged down by people's criticism. We both have to be strong. And prove to people that we are made of stronger stuff!" she smiled at Acquila, placing her hand on Acquila's clasped hands which were trembling with grief and anger.

Acquila gave her a small smile. She was glad that Hermione understood what she was going through. And Hermione was right. She was Acquila Black! She would not let people's opinions of her affect her.

"You're right, Hermione. Thanks," she smiled again.

"You're welcome Acquila!" said Hermione and turned her attention to the sorting.

As Acquila looked around, she saw a girl at the Hufflepuff table staring at her intently. The girl had a heart-shaped face and bright pink hair. When the girl seemed disinclined to take her gaze off her, Acquila gave her a hesitant smile. And to her immense surprise, the girl smiled widely at her in return.

After some time, the McGonagall finally announced, "Potter, Harry!"

The hall was suddenly filled with whispering voices.

"Did she say Potter?"

"Harry Potter?"

"The one who destroyed You-know-who?"

Acquila was glad that the students' focus was finally away from her. She had had enough of people vilifying her solely due to her family's misdeeds. She waited with bated breath as Harry put on the Hat and his green eyes disappeared beneath it.

… …

"Hmm… Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes- and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… so where shall I put you? How about Slytherin?" the Hat chuckled in Harry's mind.

"Not Slytherin! I want to be in Gryffindor! Please."

"Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure? You could be great. It's all here in your head. Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness, no doubt about that."

"I don't want greatness! I just want to be with Acquila in Gryffindor!" Harry thought indignantly.

"Ah! Acquila? Ms. Black? Hmmm… Quite a determined mind you have there! Your parents would have been proud of you. You are bound to be in GRYFFINDOR!" said the Hat with an emphasis on 'bound'.

Harry whipped the hat off his head and placed it on the stool again. The Gryffindors were cheering loudly with the Weasley twins yelling, "We got Potter!" But Harry was oblivious to it all. A lot of people shifted on their seats, trying to make place for the Boy-who-lived hoping he would sit next to them. But Harry walked straight to Acquila who stood up and threw herself into his arms.

"We're in the same house, Acquila! I promised we'll be together!"

"Yes, Harry!" she replied happily, as they both sat down side by side next to Hermione, her earlier sorrow all forgotten. Most of the students in the hall seemed to be looking at them rather than the other first years being sorted.

"You took ages to be sorted, Harry! I was so nervous!"

"You took just as long!" he gave her a playful punch, "I was so worried you would end up in Slytherin…"

Acquila looked down at her hands, the Hat's words echoing in her mind.

"You know, Harry?" she said in a small voice, "The hat told me I would make a very good Slytherin. You think I am as bad as my family was?"

Harry stared at her. "The hat told that to me too! That Slytherin will help me on the way to greatness. But I refused. Don't worry, Acquila. Don't pay much heed to what the Hat said. And you can never ever be a bad person. You're the best person I know!" he told her sincerely.

She smiled back at him and was about to reply when Ron joined them.

"Hey! I'm in Gryffindor too! Are you guys even paying any attention to the sorting?"

"Uh… Congratulations, Ron!" said Harry as they all started discussing the sorting and the teachers on the staff table.

A few minutes later, the Sorting was over. The headmaster stood up and opened his arms wide.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!"

They all laughed as Dumbledore ended his short speech with 'Nitwik! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!' And then the table started piling up with an assortment of food. As Harry stared hungrily at the food, Acquila felt sorry for him. She knew that though the Dursleys had never really starved him, they hadn't let him eat as much as he wanted to.

"Are you going to keep staring at the food or are you going to start eating?" she giggled and Harry started piling his plate with food. Hermione and Percy started discussing lessons, while Harry, Acquila and the others talked to their House Ghost, Nearly-headless Nick. Acquila quite liked the ghost. Unlike the others students, he didn't seem to be prejudiced towards her. As she looked around the hall, she saw the hook-nosed professor glaring at her and Harry.

"Hey, Harry! Why does that professor keep glaring at us?"

As Harry looked up, Snape looked straight at Harry past professor Quirrell's turban.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Harry as he touched the scar on his forehead.

"What did you do to him, Black? Get away from Harry! I do not know how you got sorted into Gryffindor. People like you who come from dark families should…" Percy shouted at Acquila.

As Acquila opened her mouth to defend herself, Harry intervened, "She did nothing!" he said firmly. "And I am fine. And Acquila will never do anything to hurt me. I don't care what you think of her, but she is my friend. And I will not stand anyone insulting her. If you judge her based on what her family was without even getting to know the person that she really is, then I don't want to talk to you," he said angrily to Percy whose face had now turned as red as his hair.

Harry himself was quite shocked at his ourburst, but the ignored the stares he was getting and said softly to Acquila, "I am fine."

"You are not, Harry. I know your forehead was hurting," she whispered back. She did not know how, but she somehow knew that Harry had felt a small stab of pain in his scar. "It was the scar, wasn't it?" she asked him.

"How did you know?" he gasped in shock.

As she was about to answer him, Dumbledore said loudly, "Ahem. I have a few start-of-the-term notices to give you…" he said as he explained the rules to the students, mainly for the benefit of the first years. He ended his speech with warning the students that the third floor corridor in the right hand side was out of bounds for students.

"And now before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore cried. All of them sang the words flowing out of Dumbledore's wand to their favourite tune. At long last, the song was over. Percy, the prefect called out to the Gryffindor first years to follow him in a line to their dormitory. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Acquila were the last ones in the line; when suddenly Acquila noticed the pink-haired girl who had smiled at her earlier, walk towards them.

"Wotcher!" she said to Acquila, "Are you really Acquila Black?"

As Acquila looked up at the girl, the girl's hand flew to her mouth in shock. "Merlin's beard! You are Acquila! Your…your eyes… your face… just like Sirius!"

"You knew my dad?" Acquila exclaimed.

The girl seemed to hesitate. "I am Nymphora Tonks! Your cousin!"

"My cousin?" said Acquila, he face awash with shock and anger.

**Author's Note: **Nymphadora Tonks is an Auror in Harry's fifth year, as per canon. Assuming she took three years for Auror training after she got her NEWTS, she would have been in her seventh year when Harry was in his first year at Hogwarts.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Purplepenguin12, LilyEvans-Potter05, akasanta, mdauben, Merida- Thanks for your reviews! They really give me great encouragement! :-)**

**Hope you like this chapter too! This chapter's for mdauben! **

**Merida, Snape will be in the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: **You know the drill. It all belongs to JKR!

**Chapter 7: 'Black' from the grave**

"What did you say?"

"I am your cousin. Your father and my mother were first cousins. So you and I are second cousins. And Acquila! I am so glad..."

"Don't you dare complete that sentence, Ms. Nymphadora!" Acquila said mid-way through Tonks' words. Tonks stared at her, speechless.

"You are glad to see me? Glad?"

"Of course, I am glad, Acquila. Why wouldn't I be glad to see you? You're my cousin. You're my family!" replied a bewildered Tonks.

"Family? Hahaha!" Acquila laughed bitterly, a laugh similar to the one on Sirius' face when he was arrested by the aurors. "Family? You know how much I longed for a family in all the years of my existence? You know how many sleepless nights I spent since I was a kid crying over the fact that I had no one to call family?" she shouted at the girl, whose pink hair had suddenly turned red.

"Acquila, listen to..."

"No, Ms. Nymphadora, or should I say cousin?" she said angrily.

"But we thought you were dead!" Nymphadora exclaimed. She was starting to lose her temper too.  
By this time, most of the crowd moving towards their respective dormitories had stopped in their tracks, wanting to listen to the cousins squabbling. The prefects were trying to usher them towards their dormitories, but to no avail.

"You thought I was dead? How can you just think that someone is dead? Did you not bother to confirm that whichever body was buried was mine? Was a body even buried? How would you feel if it was you? What if you spent years of your life waiting for relatives to come and take you home, years living a life where you did not even know your surname?" Acquila was in tears now.

She suddenly felt a warm hand on her shoulders. It was Harry.

"Acquila, please calm down."

"How do I calm down, Harry?" But seeing Harry at her side made the tears cascade at an even faster pace. Harry hugged her, trying to stop her tears.

"Please don't cry, Acquila," Nymphadora tried to walk closer to her, but Acquila flared up, "Don't cry? Don't cry? When you cried when you were a kid, did you not have a mother and father to wipe your tears? Whom did I have? Just people from the orphanage..." she said, facing her.

Ron and Hermione were standing at a distance, unsure of how to react.

"You lived in an orphanage?" gasped Tonks.

"Yes, I did. Thanks to my so-called family who just assumed that I was dead. I lived a lonely and friendless life till I was eight, with children who considered me a freak! And now I realise that I have this whole lot of relatives who didn't even care enough for me to look out for me, to give me a real home, to ascertain my whereabouts, to deduce that I wasn't dead!"

Suddenly, she heard a third voice. "You, half-blood! How dare you make Acquila cry? And don't you dare call her family! Your mother stopped being family to the Blacks when she ran off with your mudblood father!"

"Stay out of this, Malfoy!" yelled Harry and Tonks together.

"Shut up, Tonks. You have no right to yell at me. And the next time you raise your voice against me, my father will hear of it. Stay away from Acquila!"

Before Tonks could retort, Draco turned to Harry. "And you, Potter. If you know what's good for you, stay away from Acquila. She's my cousin. She's my family."

"Malfoy, you..."

"That's enough!" said a commanding voice. It was Snape. "Potter here has already started with his attention-grabbing stunts, I see," he said, sneering at Harry.

"And you, Tonks. I'm surprised you've stood here for this long without tripping over your clumsy feet!" Snape sneered at Tonks this time. She turned a bright  
red, the shade of her hair.

"Mr. Malfoy, you will accompany me to the Slytherin common room. As for Potter and Tonks here, detention for holding a shouting match in the great hall and..."

"That will be enough, Severus. I can handle the matter hereon." It was the headmaster.

"But, Headmaster…"

"Please take Mr. Malfoy with you, Severus. He will not know the way to the dungeons."

Recognising his dismissal, Snape left reluctantly with Draco following him, who smirked haughtily at both Harry and Tonks. The crowd was now starting to dissipate.

Now I will bid all four of you a good night." he said to Ron, Harry, Hermione and Nymphadora. "And yes, there will be no detention for you two, Ms. Tonks and Mr. Potter. And it was then that Harry realised that Acquila was nowhere to be seen. He and Tonks had been so occupied with Draco and Snape that they hadn't seen Acquila leave.

"Where's Ac..."  
"She ran away crying, Harry," Hermione replied before Harry could even complete asking the question. "I think we ought to leave her alone..."  
"But she doesn't know the castle, the passageways and..." said a worried Tonks.  
"Ms. Tonks, Mr. Potter, don't worry. I will look for her. Now, all four of you, please go to your respective dormitories. A prefect will show you where your common room is." he said to the three Gryffindors. Harry wanted to refuse, and be adamant that he would search for Acquila. But the authority with which the headmaster spoke had made Harry realise that he would have little success in trying to refuse. They all left reluctantly.

...

Being the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore had a deep link with the magical powers of the Castle. It was a fact known to no one but the heads of Hogwarts. He reached out to the Castle, asking it for help in determining where Acquila was. And within seconds, he got an answering reply. She was out on the castle grounds, by the Great Lake.

As he neared the lake, he saw a small figure sitting by it. It reminded him of another day years ago, the 1st of September 1971. He remembered seeing another member of the Black family who was sitting there brooding over the harsh words his mother had heaped on him.

_"How could you get sorted into that house, you Blood-traitor! You are a disgrace to the name of the Blacks! You are born of two Blacks of the purest of blood! Born to a house which has prided itself on its members being sorted into the Noble house of Slytherin! How could you get sorted in Gryffindor? The Heir of the Black family in a house full of blood traitors and mudbloods!" Walburga had shrieked at Sirius in the Great hall right in front of the present students. She could enter Hogwarts anytime by virtue of her being on the Board of Governers. _

_Sirius had said nothing to her. He just stood there with his head down. But Walburga's verbal assault didn't stop there._

_"I detest you, Sirius! I wish you were no son of mine. I wish Regulus had been the elder son. He is the rightful heir to the Black legacy, not you! You are an insult to the Blacks! Merlin! Why did I ever give birth to you? I would have preferred being without progeny than having my womb shelter filth like you for nine months!"_

_Sirius said nothing. He ran out of the Hall. _

_As Walburga made to walk after him, she was stopped by an eleven-year old Gryffindor with messy black hair who walked into her path and stood facing her. _

_"Get out of my way, Boy!"_

_James Potter was visibly shivering with the thought of confronting an enraged Walburga, but he did not budge. "I will not let you go after him! What kind of mother are you? Which lady talks to her own son like that?" he asked her, looking straight into her eyes._

_"You brat! How dare you talk to me like this?" she thundered, raising her wand; a black jet of light sped towards James, but it was deflected by a fuming Dumbledore._

_"I will not tolerate the use of dark magic on my students, Mrs. Black! Leave! Leave Hogwarts right now!" his normally twinkling blue eyes were burning with rage. _

_Walburga had left, she escaped a prison sentence, thanks to the Black fortune, but she was removed from the Board of Governors of Hogwarts. _

Just like today, Albus had searched for Sirius, but as he reached the lake, he saw James sitting next to Sirius, his invisibility cloak lying by his side in a heap. The boys seemed to be in the middle of a conversation.

_"You know, Sirius, it doesn't matter who your family is. All that matters is what you choose to make of your life."_

_"Thank you, James." Sirius had mumbled, he wasn't crying, but Dumbledore could see the hurt in his eyes._

_"Don't thank me, Sirius. I promise, I'll be by your side forever, no matter what people say. Now on, you are my brother. And brothers don't thank each other. They just stand by each other until the very end. As I will."_

_Sirius hugged James, wiping off the lone tear that fell down his eye before James could see it._

_"I'll stand by your side too, James… for as long as I live. I promise."_

Dumbledore shook the memories off his mind, as he finally reached the lake. Acquila had not seemed to have sensed his arrival.

"Ms. Black?" he called out softly to her.

As she heard his voice, her hand went out to her face, trying to discreetly wipe off her tears. She was indeed a Black, thought Dumbledore; she would not let anyone see her tears.

She turned around and looked up to face him; her eyes still red around the rim, the stars above reflecting in her grey irises. On seeing him, she stood up quickly. "Hello, Sir!" she said with an attempt at a smile. Sirius' smile.

"May I have a few words with you, Ms. Black?"

"Please Sir, will you call me Acquila?" she almost pleaded with him, "What if I don't want to be a Black, Sir? I want to be Acquila, just Acquila, as I was for the past ten years. I don't think it will make any difference..." she paused, wondering why she was spilling out her thoughts to the old wizard before her. But then, she continued, wanting to get it all off her chest. "I was dead for Nymphadora and her mother for ten years. Even for Draco and Narcissa for that matter. Despite having relatives on the Black side of my family, nobody cared for me. So why should I even keep the name 'Black'? What has that name even given me? All I get is people glaring at me saying I'm as bad as most Blacks were. I don't want to be a Black. I don't want to ever talk to Nymphadora or Draco or their parents. They can go back to thinking I am dead..."

"Don't say that, Acquila. And it's our choices that make us what we are, not the family that we are born into. What we choose to make of our lives is in our hands. I wish to talk further with you regarding this matter. Will you please accompany me to my office?"

Acquila nodded.

"We could walk up to my office, but I would prefer going there by another means to avoid the attention it would attract. I am sure mischievous students like the Weasley twins must be out of bed. I do not want anyone to notice us. I do not want any more people discussing you and causing you distress."

"Will we take a portkey, Sir?"

"Oh no, Acquila. We'll take the more unconventional means of transport," Dumbledore smiled at her, his blue eyes twinkling.

A moment later, a red and gold bird materialised right in front of them and perched itself on the headmaster's outstretched arm. Acquila stared at it in wonder.

"Is that... is that a Phoenix, Sir?"

"Yes. It is a phoenix. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's mine, since phoenixes are independent creatures. But yes, it has been a great companion and friend to me since the past many years. Its name is Fawkes."

Acquila's hand veered towards the phoenix of its own accord. She reached out to touch its feathers, when she suddenly realised what she was doing. "I'm sorry, Sir. I did not even ask you whether I could touch it," she apologised.

"Oh no, Acquila! On the contrary, I think Fawkes rather likes you," said Dumbledore as the phoenix spread its wings and settled on Acquila's shoulder. Acquila held her arm out, and it settled on her arm, leaning into her touch as she ran her fingers over its dazzling feathers.

"Time to go, Fawkes," said Dumbledore, and Fawkes flew off her arms and rose into the air, stopping at a distance where Acquila could have touched its tail feathers if she extended her arm upwards.

"Hold on to the feathers, Acquila," the headmaster told her. He continued when she looked at him, confused. "Phoenixes can carry loads and transport people over long distances. If you would hold on to Fawkes, he will take us directly to my office."

As Acquila hesitantly touched and held on to Fawkes' tail feathers, Dumbledore too followed suit, and the next moment, Acquila had landed into an ancient-looking room. It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tainted wizard's hat - the Sorting Hat.

"Please take a seat, Acquila," the headmaster told her.

She sat down across Dumbledore. As she looked at the headmaster, his blue eyes softened, they seemed almost... was that guilt that Acquila could see in his eyes? But guilt for what?

"Acquila," he sighed. "I am sorry for what I am about to tell you. It will cause you a lot of sorrow."

"What do you mean, Sir?"

"I was the one who masterminded the entire sequence of events. No, please hear me out first, child. Please," he requested her as she was about to intervene.

"Where do I begin from?" he sighed again, "I know you must have wondered why Professor McGonagall was reluctant to talk to you about your father. Well, your father is alive..."

Acquila's mouth fell open in shock. "My father is alive? And despite that, I lived in an orphanage? Why did he never come to even meet me? Did he not want me?" her beautiful features were marred by anger and disappointment.

"Please hear me out before you reach conclusions, Acquila. You father is in Azkaban, the wizarding prison. He was sent to Azkaban for killing thirteen Muggles and one wizard. The wizard in question was his friend, Peter Pettigrew. That same night, your mother was killed. And her death might have been ordered by your father. I cannot be sure of that, but it might have been so."

Acquila couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was beyond tears now. No wonder, McGonagall was reluctant to tell her about her father. No wonder the students started whispering when her name was announced. No wonder Ron felt disgusted by her when they first met. She was the daughter of a criminal, a murderer, a man who killed his own wife.

Dumbledore had expected the girl to break into tears, to wallow in sorrow, but what he hadn't expected was her calmly saying, "Please continue, Sir. I need to hear the entire story."

"Are you alright, Acquila?"

"I am not, Sir. But I am not going to spend my tears on a man who is a criminal. No wonder, I was in an orphanage. Who would want to take in the daughter of a murderer? I shouldn't have shouted at Nymphadora..." she trailed off.

Realising that it would be better if he told her everything at once, Dumbledore continued, "It is not so, Acquila. If Andromeda, Ms. Tonks' mother knew you were alive, she would have definitely taken care of you. Please do not blame her for something which was my doing. I was the one who convinced people you were dead. I made sure the Aurors discovered a body which they thought to be yours. I was the one who took you to the orphanage."

The anger in Acquila's eyes reminded Dumbledore of just how much of Black blood she carried in her veins. There was a darkness lurking underneath her innocent grey eyes, almost reminiscent of the times when Sirius or Bellatrix were enraged.

"You had me declared dead? You put me in the orphanage when I had relatives alive who would have taken me in?"

"Yes, it was I. But I did it for your good, Acquila..."

"My good? Do you have any idea what it is to live your entire life thinking that you have no one to call family, thinking that you have no one to call your own? Do you know how it is to spend sleepless nights wondering how your parents must have looked, wondering whether they ever even caressed me lovingly, wondering whether I had any siblings, wondering why no one ever came to take me home from the orphanage? And you say you did it for my good! Who are you to take decisions for me, Mr. Dumbledore? Who are you to decide the course of my life?" she shouted at him.

The glass instruments on Dumbledore's tables started rattling. But she was just an eleven year old girl. Her underdeveloped magic couldn't do any great harm. So, Dumbledore decided to let her get her ire out of system, even if it meant that his belongings were at the receiving end of her anger. Suddenly, the inhabitants of the portraits were in uproar. The portraits of the past heads of Hogwarts started swaying, the glass on their frames seemed to be on the verge of shattering

"Dumbledore! Stop that child!"

And it was then that Dumbledore remembered why he had thought Acquila to be a very powerful witch when he had taken her to the orphanage. The floor of Dumbledore's office started shaking too. Never before had the headmaster seen such a powerful display of accidental magic. Aquila seemed oblivious to what her rage was leading to. She was just staring at Dumbledore, her grey eyes had turned almost black, reflecting unconcealed anger.

Dumbledore waved his wand almost lazily, to stop the affects of Acquila's fury. But nothing happened. The former schools of Hogwarts started shouting again.

"Albus! Stop her!"

"You vile girl! Stop what you are doing!"

"She'll destroy the entire office at this rate!"

Dumbledore hardly noticed their screams. His eyes had slightly widened in surprise. He had expected the swaying of the portraits to stop when he performed the counter charm. But Acquila's magic was indeed extremely powerful, strengthened by her wrath. He waved his wand again, this time with more magic channeled into the incantation, and then finally, everything stood still.

The portraits heaved a collective sigh of relief. Acquila was still seated, glaring at Dumbledore. As Dumbledore looked at Fawkes, who hadn't moved an inch from his perch in the past few minutes, the bird looked at Albus with a strange expression in its eyes, almost as if it were saying, 'Well, you deserved it!'

"Great Merlin! Finally, an heir who is worthy of being called a Black, even if she is female. Ah! I am so glad! Did you see the power exuding through her, Dumbledore? How I wish she was a boy and not a girl. She would have made an excellent head of the Noble House of Black! Much better than the current Head who is rotting in Azkaban," said a sly voice from one of the portraits. As Acquila looked up at the portrait she remembered reading about him in Hogwarts- A history.

"You are Phineas Nigellus, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am, girl. And I'm also an ancestor of yours," he smirked at her, "Don't worry, lass. I am going to have some words with Albus soon. He had no right to send the heiress of our Noble House to an orphanage. A Muggle orphanage! Oh the ignominy!" he glared at Dumbledore.

"Enough. Phineas. We will have a talk after I am done talking to Acquila."

Acquila continued to glare at Dumbledore just as Phineas was, but her rage seemed to have lessened. "I guess there is more to it? Kindly continue." she said curtly.

"Yes. Your father is the last Black heir. His brother Regulus, who was a death eater passed away before you were born. In 1981, when Sirius was sent to Azkaban and your mother was no more, there were no surviving McKinnons. They had all perished due to a death eater attack. Your only surviving relatives were on your father's side of the family. Andromeda would have readily adopted you, but she was disowned by the Blacks for marrying a Muggle-born. Your paternal grandmother, Walburga and you great-grandfather Arcturus were still alive then. If they knew you were living with the Tonks family, they would have petitioned the Wizengamot for custody. And as per wizarding laws, Walburga would have been given charge of you. You have seen tonight, how people perceive the Black family. And frankly, they aren't wrong. Sirius' parents didn't officials support Voldemort..."

"Voldemort?" she questioned him.

"The dark wizard. I think you may know him as He-who-must-not-be-named or You-know-who. He had unleashed such terror that people were scared to even utter his name."

"But you call him by his name!"

"Fear of a name increases fear of the name itself. His name is not something to be feared. And I would prefer you calling him Voldemort too. You do not need to fear his name."

Acquila nodded.

"Coming back to the matter at hand, I did not want you to be brought up by the Blacks. I did not want you to become another Bellatrix, Narcissa's sister who is serving a life sentence in Azkaban for torturing a couple to insanity. Your mother, Athena was more of a friend than a student to me after she left school. She would never have forgiven me if you were brought up by your family. She would never have wanted to see you grow up being taught that it's alright to hurt people; that being a pure-blood makes you greater than other witches and wizards, being brought up with Dark magic. You need to understand, Acquila. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices for the greater good. I sacrificed the happy childhood that you might have had with the Tonks to ensure that you would be brought up as a good person who would make her mother proud. You might think that I am no one to make decisions for you, but what I did was for your well-being. Please, Acquila. You may think I made a mistake, but it's for good."

"I hope you are right, Sir. Maybe it was for my good. But that still doesn't give anyone a right to make decisions for me." she said firmly.

"I apologise for the distress my actions may have caused you, but I assure you everything I did was with the right intentions. Your well-being was foremost on my mind."

"I cannot say I can forgive you for it now, but I need some time to get over what you have told me today. Sir, if there is anything else that I need to know, I would appreciate it if you tell it to me right now. I don't want to be oblivious to something which others might know about my father or my family. I think I have a right to know it all. Is there anything else I ought to know?" she asked him pointedly.

Dumbledore was silent for a few moments. He debated over telling Acquila about Sirius being the cause of the Potters' deaths. But then, he looked at the girl in front of him, the innocence in her eyes when he had first brought her into his office was no more. Her eyes looked like that of a much older soul, she seemed to have grown up in a matter of a few minutes, shouldering the weight of a great burden. He wanted her to live her childhood as a child should. And with Harry being her only friend, Dumbledore just could not bring himself to tell her about Sirius' betrayal of the Potters' deaths.

"No. That is all you need to know, Acquila. And do you still feel as you did about being a Black?"

"No. I am a Black. Nothing can change that. All I can do is change the perception people have of me. I am nothing like my father or the other Blacks who followed Voldemort. And I will prove that to people."

"Very well, Ms. Black," he said, returning back to calling her by her surname, "Shall I take you to your common room, now?"

"Yes, Sir," she said. But Dumbledore could see the hurt and distrust in her eyes. He knew it would take her a long time to 'forgive' him for what he had done.

...

As Dumbledore escorted Acquila to Gryffindor tower, the Fat Lady who was dozing in her portrait woke up as soon as the headmaster uttered the password.

"Headmaster! It's such a pleasure to see you here, despite the late hour! And who is this? Oh my my! You look just like Sirius Black! Are you his daughter?" she said excitedly.

"Yes, she is his daughter. Let her go in now. As you said, it's already quite late."

The Fat Lady nodded and the portrait swung open.

"Good night, Acquila."

But Acquila did not reply. She just inclined her head slightly and went in. As she entered the Gryffindor common room, she expected to find it devoid of students as it was quite late. But her heart leapt with joy and relief as she saw Harry sitting on a couch. He was asleep. It looked like he had stayed awake for her to come back, but fallen asleep in the interim. She did not want to wake him up, but she desperately wanted to talk to him. She sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulders, the tears finally flowing down her face. She did not like crying in front of people, it made her feel weak. But with Harry around, she knew she could let her guard down. As her tears dampened the nightshirt he was wearing, Harry woke up.

"Hey!" he said softly, wiping the tears off her face, "What's the matter?"

"Oh Harry! My father is alive. And he is a murderer. He killed fourteen people. He also played a part in my mother being killed..." she sobbed.

In the next ten minutes. Acquila told Harry everything that Dumbledore had told her. Harry said nothing to her while she spoke, but his thoughts were whirring continuously. He had never hated anyone. He didn't even hate the Dursleys. They treated him badly, but he could never bring himself to hate them. But now, as Acquila narrated everything, Harry realised that he hated Sirius Black. It was due to him that Acquila lost her mother; he was the reason Acquila had to live in a muggle orphanage despite having relatives who would have willingly taken her in. Sirius Black was the reason for Acquila's tears. As Acquila finally calmed down enough to stop sobbing, Harry swore to himself that he would never let Sirius Black get anywhere near Acquila. And if he ever saw him, he would make him pay for the pain and grief that he had caused Acquila.

Harry ran his fingers through Acquila's hair, "It's alright, Acquila. It doesn't matter who your father is. He doesn't make you who you are. He being a criminal has no bearing on who you are. And if anyone else thinks otherwise, I'm going to tell them exactly what I think of people like them. I don't care about your father, Acquila. You matter. Not who your father is!" he told her.

"You're the best friend anyone can ever have, Harry," she smiled at him.

"I'm honoured!" he smirked at her. She punched him playfully.

"Where is the girls' dormitory?" she asked him. Harry led her towards it.

"Hey! You can't come in, Harry. The stairs are enchanted to prevent boys from entering the girls' dormitory! I read it in..."

"In Hogwarts- A history," he completed the sentence for her. "Honestly, Acquila, you and that Hermione girl should read books together. You both seem to have learnt everything in that book by heart," he laughed. Acquila gave him a mock glare.

"Good night, Harry. Sleep well," she said. As he waved to her and turned back to go to his dormitory, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and Acquila gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks again, Harry. What will I ever do without you?" and ran off to her dormitory. Harry smiled and walked to his own four poster bed. He fell into an uneasy sleep, interspersed with dreams of Sirius Black killing Athena with a gunshot, and professor Quirrel turning into professor Snape and sneering at him.

...

As Dumbledore woke up the next morning, he heard an owl tapping at his window. As he untied the letter from its talons, it bit his finger angrily and departed. Nursing his injured finger, Dumbledore opened the letter, read its contents and sighed tiredly.

_Mr. Albus Dumbledore_

_Nymphadora sent me an owl yesterday telling me of Acquila being alive._

_I am no fool, Albus. I know that there is only one wizard in existence who has the intelligence and the capability of planning something of this magnitude. I know that you are responsible for Acquila being declared dead and having to spend her entire childhood in a Muggle orphanage._

_You had no right to dictate the course of Acquila's life. With Sirius and Bellatrix in prison, I am the eldest of the Blacks. And even though I was disowned, I can still claim to be Acquila's legal guardian as per wizarding law. How could you hide the fact that Acquila is alive for all these years? Sirius may have turned rogue, but he was my favourite cousin, the only member of my family who stood by me when I married Ted. His daughter is as good as my daughter. You had no right to deny her existence to me. _

_Meet me at ten at the Leaky Cauldron, Albus. And if you don't turn up on time, or if I find that your reasons for your actions hold no merit, I swear to Merlin, I will sue you. You may be the great Albus Dumbledore, but I am Andromeda Tonks. A former Black and a former Slytherin. And I think you know that when a Black or a Slytherin want something, they get it no matter what the cost. If I do not agree with the reasons for you taking charge of Acquila's life, I will see to it that you are behind bars, preferably in a cell next to Bellatrix and Sirius. You have been warned._

_Andromeda Tonks_

Dumbledore sighed deeply. He had expected Andromeda to write to him, but he had not expected such a scathing letter.

There was another tap at his window. This time, it was an owl carrying the Daily Prophet. Dumbledore unfurled the newspaper and sighed again on reading the headline.

**_'BLACK' FROM THE GRAVE_**

_Report by senior reporter, Shane McMillan_

_Acquila Black, daughter of infamous murderer Sirius Black is alive! Our sources confirm that she was at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry yesterday, to start her first year of education._

_Ten years ago, Acquila was discovered dead in a muggle alley. She was buried with her mother Athena Black, formerly Athena McKinnon in the McKinnon family cemetery. So how is she alive? Whose body was buried? Where was Acquila for the past ten years? Too many unanswered questions._

_When asked about the reappearance of Acquila, Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge reacted with shock. He seemed to have no idea of her being alive and declined to comment._

_Our sources at Hogwarts confirm that the girl is indeed Acquila Black. During the sorting ceremony, her name was called out as Acquila Black. She is a spitting image of her father and her features are indeed those of a Black, including the black hair and grey eyes-a typical Black family trait. Our sources also confirm that she was sorted into Gryffindor house, just as Sirius Black was. The girl also seems to have befriended Harry Potter, the Boy who lived. She was seen hugging him after he too was sorted into Gryffindor._

_After the traditional welcoming feast, Acquila allegedly had a verbal argument with her cousin Nymphadora Tonks, daughter of Andromeda Black who was disowned for marrying the muggle-born Ted Tonks. During the heated exchange of words, Acquila was heard to have mentioned that she spent the past ten years in a muggle orphanage._

_Who put her in an orphanage? Why was her existence hidden from magical Britain under the guise of her death? Who is behind the entire matter? Unanswered questions again._

_Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts too remained unavailable for comment. When asked to comment, Narcissa Malfoy, Acquila's aunt said, "I am really glad to know that Acquila is alive. The news of her being alive has come as a shock to me. With her father in Azkaban, I, being her aunt will take care of her. She is welcome to spend her Christmas holidays at Malfoy Manor."_

_ Earlier, Draco Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy's son was the heir to the Black fortune. But with Acquila being alive, the Black family fortune will be inherited by her after Sirius Black's death._

_ Former auror, Alastor Moody who had confirmed that the body buried was Acquila's too was unavailable for comment. We expect light to be shed on the issue soon._

Dumbledore had not expected the press to get wind of Acquila. But he was sure that Lucius Malfoy was behind the news leaking to the Daily Prophet. Draco Malfoy would have definitely informed his parents about what had happened the previous day. And now, with the Prophet having contacted Fudge, he was sure Fudge would arrive at Hogwarts any time to meet Dumbledore. But Albus had far more graver issues to address than answering Fudge's questions. He would first visit Andromeda and placate her. And then visit Nicholas Flamel, who wanted to know what precautions Dumbledore had taken to protect the Philosopher's stone. Fudge and his questions could wait.

Half an hour later, Dumbledore set forth for London to meet Andromeda, having given McGonagall instructions to tell no one of where he was, especially the Minister.

...

Acquila, Harry and Ron left the common room together for breakfast. After getting lost several times they finally found their way to the Great Hall. Just as they were about to enter through the doors, Acquila spotted Nymphadora walking towards them, trying very hard to put on her yellow and black tie.  
"You go ahead, I want to talk to Nymphadora," she said to Harry and Ron.  
"Are you sure?" Harry asked worried.  
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll be with you guys in two minutes."  
Harry reluctantly left and walked towards the Gryffindor table with Ron.

Acquila walked towards Nymphadora.  
"Hi!" Acquila said, Nymphadora's attention shifted from her tie to Acquila.  
"Umm.. Hi!" she said uncertainly.  
"I just wanted to say sorry to you for yesterday. I shouldn't have screamed at you like that," she said, hoping that she wouldn't lose her cousin because of her rage.  
"It's alright, Acquila. I understand how you must have felt," Nymphadora said waving her hand.  
"Thank you, Nymphadora, I thought you won't forgive me."  
"There was never anything to forgive. We should have looked out for you, too; confirmed that the body buried was yours. I am sorry too, Acquila. And please don't call me Nymphadora. I hate it when people call me by my full name. Just call me Dora."

Just then Hermione came running towards them with The Daily Prophet in her hands.  
"Acquila, you are all over the paper!" Hermione said, showing Acquila the front page.  
Acquila glanced at the headlines and groaned, "I'm going to have a horrible day. Everyone is going to be gossiping about me."  
"Don't think about what others will say about, dear. Just ignore them and enjoy your first day of classes!" Dora said brightly.  
"Thanks Nympha... Umm… Dora!" Acquila said.  
" No need to thank me. Just tell me all about your day in the evening. I would really love to know all about it. And listen, if you ever need anything, I am here for you. That's what family is for!" she hugged her.  
Acquila smiled and nodded her head.  
"Now let's go have breakfast. I'm hungry. And you both surely don't want to miss your first class." Dora said and started walking towards the Hufflepuff table.

Acquila and Hermione walked to the Griffindor table. Acquila could see that Harry was looking at her worriedly. She could also hear a lot of whispering around her when she passed by, but she decided to follow her cousin's advice and ignore it all. Hermione put her hand on Acquila's shoulder, showing her support. And Acquila smiled broadly, glad to have friends like Harry, Hermione and Dora by her side.

...

_"Paafoot! Paaafooot!" said a little Harry Potter._

_"James! Lily! Look! Harry just said 'Padfoot'!", Sirius said, trying to rock Harry to sleep._

_James came in running, "Oh Merlin!" James groaned. "This is so unfair! He was supposed to say 'Prongs' before 'Padfoot'! Are you sure you aren't joking? You're sure he said Padfoot?"_

_"Of course he did!" Sirius replied. "Come on Harry, say Padfoot again!"_

_Harry did nothing but stared sleepily at both of them and laughed._

_"I think he likes his godfather better than his father." Sirius smirked at James._

_ James made a face at him at first but then suddenly turned serious. He looked at his best friend and said, "Sirius, you know how bad times are. And you know that Voldemort is out to kill Harry because of the prophecy," James said. "If..." he hesitated, "If something happens to me and Lily, because I swear we aren't going to let anything happen to Harry. Voldemort will have to kill us before he can even venture close to my son. If Lily and I are no more, then promise me that you will take care of Harry. You will love him as much as you love Acquila..."_

_"Nothing is going to happen to any of you, Jamie! Why do you think I became an Auror?"_

_"Because I became one?" James tried to joke._

_"No, you prat! Because I wanted to keep all of you safe. You, Athena, Lily, the kids, Peter and Remus... I wanted to make myself capable of protecting you all. You think I will let anything happen to you and Lily? I'll die if I have to, but I won't let anything happen to you, Jamie. Don't even think of dying. We have taken all the precautions possible. Peter is the best secret keeper and Voldermort and his followers won't ever guess it's him. Don't worry, mate," Sirius assured him._

_"I know that. But just in case things go wrong, promise you'll be there for Harry." James said worriedly._

_Sensing James' worry, Sirius replied, "Of course I will. Harry is as dear to me as Acquila is. I will do anything to keep Harry safe. I promise."_

_James nodded his head and hugged Sirius tightly._

_"Umm… James I think Harry is finding it difficult to breath now," Sirius said pointing at sleeping Harry in Sirius' arms who was squashed between them._

_"Oh! Sorry!" James said looking at Harry lovingly. "And thanks, Sirius!"_

_"Hey! Brothers don't thank each other, remember? They just stand by each other until the very end. As I will," Sirius echoed James' words. "And I will stand by Harry too. I promise."_

This memory was the one of only ones that the dementors couldn't take from Sirius. It wasn't a happy memory, it was a promise that he had made. And he still had the determination to fulfill it. This determination is what kept him sane as he had nothing else to live for except Harry.

Sirius suddenly heard footsteps and he broke out of his chain of thoughts.

"Are you sure you want to meet him, Minister?" He heard someone say.

"Yes I have to. I tried to reach Dumbledore but he's not at Hogwarts and McGonagall won't tell me where he is. The press is demanding answers from me about the girl. And with Dumbledore unavailable, whom do I get answers from? I am sure Black knows something about this." He heard a familiar voice say.

"Ok sir. I'll wait here for you." the other voice said.

He heard footsteps closing in on his cell and finally Cornelius Fudge came into view, clutching the Daily Prophet in his hands. He stopped right in front of Sirius' cell. He was surprised to find the man looking quite sane, unlike the other prisoners who had all gone mad.

"Fudge, you've got the wrong cell." Sirius said, going to the back of the cell.

"I have come to meet you, Sirius." Fudge said, not looking pleased at all.

Sirius didn't reply, so Fudge continued.

"It's regarding your daughter."

As soon as he said that, Sirius looked up at him and glared.

"How dare you mention my daughter! You are the reason she died, you are the reason my wife died because put me here without even a trial." Sirius said coming closer to his bars and glaring at Fudge in murderous rage. If looks could kill, Fudge would have been lying on the floor of the cell in a heap of ashes.

Fudge mentally cursed himself for coming to Azkaban. It didn't seem to him that Sirius knew anything about Acquila being alive. But if nobody knew anything about the girl, he decided he could make Sirius the scapegoat when the public asked him further questions about Acquila.

"Acquila is alive and at Hogwarts now. Do you know how she is suddenly alive after all these years of being declared dead?" he asked, gathering his courage and trying to sound authoritative.

"What! Acquila alive? You Liar! Stop your bloody games! She died ten years ago!" Sirius bellowed.

"She is alive. I'm not lying. She is at Hogwarts," Fudge said pointing at the Daily Prophet in his hands.

Before Fudge could react, Sirius snatched the newspaper from him.

Sirius read the whole article. Then threw the paper on the floor and lunged at Fudge, trying to strangle him.

"You bastard! My daughter is alive! And she lived in a Muggle orphanage! Despite me being alive! Despite Andromeda and Remus being alive! How dare you let my daughter live in an orphanage!"

As Fudge started struggling to breathe, Sirius let go off him, and Fudge ran out of the cell, calling out to the aurors who had accompanied him.

As Fudge entered the cell again with the auror in tow, Sirius screamed at him before the minister could utter a single word.

"I am going to sue you, Fudge! I am going to see to it that you are going to suffer for this!"

"What have I done? Your daughter is not my responsibility!" Fudge retorted. "And I am the Minister of Magic. You can't sue me."

"Don't teach me wizarding laws, Fudge. I learnt everything there is to learn about wizarding laws at my father's knee. I may have been burnt off the family tapestry, but I was brought up as a Black. I know the laws. The ministry is responsible for magical orphans. The ministry is supposed to grant custody of the orphans to the godparents, closest living relatives or a foster wizarding family who is ready to care for the child. You did none of this. You let my daughter grow up in an orphanage. You kept the news of her existence from me! I may be in Azkaban, but I am still a Black! I am going to make sure you pay for this!" Sirius spat at the man.

Fudge's face went white. "You… you can't do that... I ... I knew nothing .and I am the Minister..." he sputtered. "Let's leave," he said to the auror and almost ran away from the cell.

A few moments later, Sirius lay crumpled on the stone floor of his dingy cell, his hands tearing at his long hair. 'Acquila is alive. My daughter is alive,' he kept reiterating in his thoughts.

When he passed on to the afterlife, Athena was going to kill him. He had been a pathetic father. His quest for revenge on Pettigrew that fateful Halloween night, had led to his wife's death and his daughter growing up an orphan. He was a horrible father, a horrible husband.

"Aaaaaaaaaa!" he yelled out a gut-wrenching scream. And then the tears started cascading down his face. He had failed everyone. He had promised James he would keep them all safe. But he had failed everyone. James, Lily. Athena, Harry, Acquila. He had failed all of them. He could hardly breathe through his unceasing sobs. He was probably more horrible a father to Acquila than Orion was to him. At least Sirius himself never had to grow up in an orphanage. But his daughter, his sweet little Acquila had grown up with muggles, probably thinking that she had no one in the world to call her own.

An hour later, Sirius could still not stop the myriad of thoughts roaring thought his mind. He transformed into his animagus form. As a dog, his thoughts were much less complex than as a human. Now there was just one thing he had to do. Get out of the hell-hole called Azkaban and go meet Acquila. And Harry as well. He remembered reading that they were both at Hogwarts. For ten long years, Sirius had lived with the guilt of breaking his promise to James of keeping them all safe. But now he would fulfill all his promises He would take care of Harry and of Acquila. He had to get out of Azkaban as soon as he could. He could not waste any more time.

It was then that he saw the bars of his cell. They weren't that wide apart, but with the less-than-palatable food at Azkaban and Sirius' lack of will to eat; he had lost a lot of weight. He could pass through them if he tried.

The dog moved towards the bars and gingerly put his front legs through the metal bars. Then he pushed his head out, and with some more effort the dog pulled his entire body out of the prison cell. And with an almost inaudible 'woof', the grim set off to seek out his daughter and godson.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: mdauben**, thanks for the idea! I wasn't going to elaborate on the custody battle, but there is going to be a lot of it in the next chapter! :-)

** Merida**, **magicheart5355**, **fanpire.x** and **purplepenguin12** thank you for your reviews.

**Disclaimer:**Same as always. Everything is owned by JKR. Recognisable parts are taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

**Chapter 8: Dementors and Wolves**

Dumbledore was sipping tea at the Flamels' Tudor-era mansion. He loved visiting them. Since childhood, Dumbledore had just a few friends. Most of the people he came in contact with were too much in awe of Dumbledore to think of him as someone who was a normal person. People hardly ever looked at him as someone beyond the person who led the fight against Voldemort and who defeated Gellert Grindelwald. But the Flamels were different. They treated Albus just like they would treat any other friend; and they were one of the few people who had seen more of the world than Albus had. The intellectual conversations he had with them over many intricate aspects of magic stimulated his mind immensely. And after the harrowing meeting he had with Andromeda, spending time with the Flamels was just what he needed. Thus, when an owl landed in front of him in the middle of discussing the ancient magic of the Egyptians with Nicholas, Dumbledore felt slightly irritated. He had specifically told Minerva not to contact him unless there was an emergency. He unfurled the letter, only to stare at it in surprise and worry.

_Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban. Minister Fudge is waiting for you at Hogwarts; refusing to leave till he meets you. Please come at the earliest._

Minerva

Dumbledore's forehead was creased with worry. How could Sirius have escaped from Azkaban? The headmaster wasn't being immodest, but he knew that no wizard apart from Dumbledore himself was capable enough of escaping from Azkaban. And no matter how gifted a wizard Sirius was, he couldn't have run away from the heavily guarded prison without a wand. Could someone from outside Azkaban have helped Black escape? But that was impossible! No one cared enough for Sirius to arrange for help for him to escape. Something was definitely wrong. He bid a hurried goodbye to the Flamels, promising them that he would ensure that the stone was safe, and with a tiny 'pop', he apparated away to Scotland.

A few moments later, Dumbledore entered the great Hall. Fudge was waiting there for him with four aurors by his side.

"Dumbledore!" Fudge yelled furiously, "Where have you been all day? How can you just disappear without even telling me where you were! Do you even know what has happened?"

"Minister, I was not privy to your assumption that I am supposed to inform you of my whereabouts every time I step out of Hogwarts," the headmaster replied coolly.

"Ah! No, my dear Dumbledore! I did not mean it that way. I… I was just worried… how do I answer the public… I meant you no disrespect," Fudge sputtered, knowing that getting on the wrong side of Dumbledore would be of no help.

"I would prefer continuing this conversation in my office, Cornelius."

Fudge nodded and followed Dumbledore with the aurors and McGonagall in tow.

As they approached the office, Fudge told all the aurors except Kingsley Shacklebolt to wait outside. As McGonagall made to follow him into the office, Fudge hesitated.

"Dumbledore, I would prefer if we could talk in privacy. This is a matter of high security."

"Minerva has my utmost confidence, Cornelius. If you have to talk to me, she comes as well," said Dumbledore, making it indirectly clear that the meeting would be on his terms and not those of Fudge.

Fudge coughed and then complied, "As you wish, Dumbledore."

The four of them made their way up the spiral staircase and took their seats.

"Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban!" said Fudge.

"How did he escape? Isn't it why you appointed Dementors; to stop prisoners from escaping? Aren't the cells barred by magic to prevent the prisoners from setting foot outside their cell?"

"Yes, yes. But he just escaped! Shacklebolt here went for the nightly inspection of the cells; and Black had just disappeared! He isn't anywhere in Azkaban!"

"Is that so, Mr. Shacklebolt?" Dumbledore asked the auror.

"Yes, Sir!" replied the auror in his deep voice.

"When was Black last seen in his cell?"

"When Minister Fudge visited him in the evening."

Dumbledore turned to Fudge, "You visited Sirius? Why?"

"Well… I… you weren't here! And then what could I do? The press was demanding answers from me about his daughter resurfacing ten years after she was thought dead! So I thought I would visit Black to see whether he knows…"

"To make him a scapegoat and blame him for the issues concerning his daughter on him, isn't it?" Dumbledore interrupted Fudge mid-way through his sentence.

The minister turned red with embarrassment. "Uh… what else could I do, Dumbledore?"

"You could have waited till I came back. _You_ went and asked Black about his daughter, which informed him of his daughter's survival; which led to him escaping," Dumbledore told Fudge.

"What? How can you say that, Albus? I am not at fault! I am the Minister of Magic! You cannot blame me for his escape! Now what do I tell the public? People will be scared to venture out of their houses for fear of Black; they will want me out of office. I am not going to resign! Merlin!" Fudge started rambling.

"Cornelius, rather than thinking of how you are going to save your post of minister of magic, why don't we think of more pressing matters?"

"What can be more pressing than saving my post, Albus?"

McGonagall seemed to put in a scathing reply, but Dumbledore stopped her.

"Fudge, the more important thing here is capturing Black as soon as possible and securing the safety of witches and wizards in Britain."

"Don't worry, Dumbledore. Head-Auror, Antiquis Blishwick has deployed hit wizards in each wizarding town. The muggle Prime Minister too has been informed of Black's escape. They are going to broadcast the news on what the muggles call 'television'. If any muggle spots Black, they have been told to inform the muggle cops who in turn have been told to inform us through the muggle 'telephone' kept in Blishwick's office," Kinglsey assured Dumbledore.

"That's not all, Albus. I have sent the Dementors to search for Black."

There was sharp intake of breath from McGonagall. "You did what?"

"I have deployed the Dementors in all places frequented by wizards. As soon as they spot Black, they are to give him the kiss," Fudge replied smugly.

"You cannot do that, Fudge. The Dementors are dark creatures. And currently they may be in your control, but will you be able to control them when they come upon masses of people from whom they can suck happiness? What if they kiss innocent people? You can't put the lives of innocent people at stake for the capture of one prisoner. You are being selfish. You are making a mistake, Fudge. It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes. We make mistakes because the easiest and most comfortable course for us is to seek insight where it accords with our emotions - especially selfish ones. You know you are making a mistake, but you are still going further with your decision to fulfill your motive of retaining your post in office by capturing Black."

"I may be selfish, but, Dumbledore, you seem to have forgotten. I am the Minister of Magic. I can do whatever I deem right. You have no say in this. I want Black captured at the earliest and who better to do the job than the Dementors?"

"You are the Minister, Fudge. And that makes you responsible for the lives of people who have chosen to put you in office. You are risking their lives, their happiness for saving your post. And you think the public will be happy when you set Dementors at them? You think they won't protest?"

Fudge reddened with anger. "They will realize that I am right when the Dementors capture Black within a couple of days. It shouldn't take longer than that. Where can he hide? They will find him wherever he is and give him the kiss."

"But what if Black manages to evade the Dementors? What if it takes longer than the couple of days which you are assuming it will take to find Black? Will you keep risking the lives of innocent witches and wizards? If anything untoward happens due to the Dementors, you will be at fault, Cornelius."

Fudge banged his fist on Dumbledore's table. "This is your fault, Dumbledore. You went missing yesterday, or I would have never gone to visit Black. And talking of Black, isn't the main reason for all the recent happenings the resurfacing of the Black heiress?"

Dumbledore said nothing, while McGonagall retorted angrily, "Don't you blame the Headmaster for the mess you have created, Minister!"

"You stay out of this, woman!"

"That will be enough!" roared Dumbledore at Fudge and then said to McGonagall, "Thanks for your support, Minerva, but let me deal with the Minister."

"And do the aurors agree with this, Shacklebolt- the deploying of Dementors?" Dumbledore asked Kingsley.

"No, Sir. We feel we are capable of capturing Black…"

"But what the aurors feel have no bearing on the orders which I give, Dumbledore," interrupted Fudge, "I have already made my decision. The Dementors are going to be deployed in all of magical Britain, including Hogwarts."

"That is preposterous!" screamed McGonagall, "You cannot send Dementors here, Minister! There are children here! Say something, Dumbledore! We cannot allow this to happen!"

"I agree with Minerva, Cornelius. Dementors will not be stationed at Hogwarts. I am the Headmaster and this is my decision. I may not have a say over what you choose to do with wizarding Britain, but I will not put my students' lives in jeopardy due to your foolish decisions," Dumbledore told Fudge calmly, but his blue eyes were blazing with rage.

"I am the Minister! I will do as I wish! And you will follow my orders. I just want Black caught, no matter what the cost; that is more important than your students…"

"ENOUGH!" thundered Dumbledore and Fudge shrank back in his chair. "Do you even realize what you are saying? You care more for yourself and your post than lives of innocent children? I will not have a single Dementor setting foot on the grounds of Hogwarts. And if they do, you will have to deal with me, Fudge! I am warning you, if even one of my students is in danger due to your Dementors, I will make sure you pay for it and I will see to it that the public knows who is to blame for this fiasco. Have I made myself clear, Fudge?" Dumbledore looked positively frightening, his eyes burning with anger; his elder wand lying on the table turned to face Fudge of its own accord

Fudge started sputtering again, "Uh… o…ok. Calm d… down, Dumb… Dumbledore. I will order the Dementors not to enter the grounds of Hogwarts."

Kingsley Shacklebolt seemed to be trying his level best to control his laughter at seeing Fudge's reaction at Dumbledore's anger.

"Is there anything else you have to say, Fudge? If not, you may leave the castle immediately."

"Umm… Well, there is one thing. I know you know all about Black's daughter. I know you are behind it all. Nobody else would have been capable enough to plan it all."

"Thank you for thinking so highly of my capabilities, Fudge. Yes. I had Acquila declared dead and had her sent to the orphanage."

"What? Why did you? How could you? You had no right! And did Moody know that too? Is that why he declared that the body buried was hers?"

"Yes, he knew. And before you think of taking action against Moody, let me tell you that this was done by taking the Minister into confidence."

"I knew nothing of this, Dumbledore!" Fudge pointed out.

"Ah! Pardon my words, Fudge. I meant that the Minister who was in office in 1981 knew of this. This was done with the approval of Millicent Bagnold."

"Then why should I be answerable to the public? The press is after my life demanding answers! I will tell them that you are responsible for it, not me!" Fudge said indignantly.

"Will you? Then why don't I tell them why Black escaped from prison; just after you met him and informed him of his daughter's existence?" Dumbledore almost smirked at Fudge.

"I will tell them that I had Acquila declared dead because I did not want the Blacks to take custody of her and bring her up to be the next Sirius Black. And I will also tell them how your foolishness had led to Black's escape."

"Dumbledore!" Fudge roared again, "You cannot do this! You are trying to usurp my position!"

"If I wanted to be Minister of Magic, I would have been sitting in your office now, not mine. I was asked to take up the post thrice, but I did not because I did not want the post. So your position as Minister is in no way threatened by me. If I wanted to be Minister, I would have been so long ago, even before you took up the post. You may deal with the press as you wish to. And now, I think we are done with our discussion. Minerva will escort you till the gates of the Castle. Good night," said Dumbledore.

Fudge tried to speak, but then decided against it. Dumbledore winked at Shacklebolt as he followed Fudge and McGonagall out of the office.

As the door shut after Kingsley, Dumbledore took a deep breath. It had been a long day- the talk with Andromeda, then the Flamels and then Fudge. He knew why Sirius had escaped Azkaban. He would come to Hogwarts for Harry and Acquila. Dumbledore was sure of it. He took a piece of parchment and addressed a letter to Remus Lupin. He called out to Fawkes and told the bird to convey the letter to Lupin. He also decided to talk to Harry and Acquila about the matter.

...

Remus Lupin was trying to sleep. It had been ten years since he moved to Ireland to begin life anew after the loss of all his friends. But the nightmares had still not deserted him. Voldemort sending a jet of green light towards Lily and James, Sirius blasting Pettigrew into pieces, thirteen muggles' lives getting extinguished within a matter of seconds; Sirius laughing as the aurors took him away, Acquila crying in an orphanage for her mother; Harry crying for James, but a horse-faced Petunia ignoring him... The nightmares continued every night. He just could not get over the loss of his friends. Here in Ireland, he worked at a muggle book-shop whose owner was kind enough to give him three days off a month during the full moon. But he had no friends. The old wounds refused to heal. His life refused to move on, remaining rooted in the past, in broken promises, betrayals and loneliness.

He tossed and turned in his bed, trying to think of some happy memory. But all his happy memories belonged to the seven years he spent at Hogwarts. And all of them contained the traitor, Sirius Black. Remus let out a scream of frustration, when suddenly a letter dropped onto him out of thin air. He easily recognised the long, cursive handwriting on it. It was a letter from Dumbledore. The letter contained just a few sentences.

_Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban. A portkey- an old Chudley Cannons' jersey will be waiting for you behind Hippogriff's Claw, the pub in Circe's Alley at 9 am. See you at Hogwarts._

Remus couldn't believe his eyes. Azkaban was like an impregnable fortress. Nobody had managed to escape Azkaban till date. Then how had Sirius escaped? He knew that Sirius was a gifted wizard, but not gifted enough to break out of Azkaban; unless Voldemort had taught him the darkest of magic. But even if he knew how to escape, why did he wait for ten long years? And that is when it struck him... Harry and Acquila! Sirius was out to get them, probably kill them. The wolf within Remus started growling with rage, wanting to rip out Sirius limb by limb for even thinking of harming his cubs.

Remus grabbed a piece of paper and a muggle pen. He wrote down his resignation and put the paper in his pocket, resolving to give it to the proprietor of the book-shop before leaving. He then started packing his meager belongings. There was no reason for him to be away from home anymore. He would go back to Hogwarts and take up a room at Hogsmeade. He would protect both Acquila and Harry. For ten long years, he had not seen the two children. But now, he would go back to his homeland and fulfill his duty as a friend to Lily, James and Athena. He would see to it that their kids remained safe. He opened a drawer and pocketed all the money in it and finally donned his wizarding robes. Now all he had to do was to wait for morning to come; and then he would finally go back to where he belonged, where he was needed, and where he wanted to be.

...

Half an hour later, Harry and Acquila were on the spiral staircase leading to Dumbledore's office. As the headmaster saw them entering, he told them to be seated.

"Hello, Ms. Black, Mr. Potter. I am sorry to have called you at this late hour, but the matter was of utmost importance, it could not have waited till morning. And I prefer you knowing of it from me rather than the Daily Prophet."

Harry and Acquila looked at each other, each getting increasingly apprehensive. What had happened? Why did Dumbledore seem to grave and worried?

"What is it, Sir?" asked Acquila.

"Well, Ms. Black, I will get directly to the point. Your father escaped from Azkaban a few hours ago."

Acquila blanched in shock, while Harry gripped her hand tightly, trying to convey his support.

"He…he escaped prison? How could he? I read that Azkaban is heavily guarded and nobody has escaped from it till date!" Acquila exclaimed.

"Nobody knows how he managed to escape, Ms. Black. He is the only person to have done so."

"But why? Sir, has he escaped to harm Acquila?" Harry asked nervously, his fear for Acquia's safety increasing by the minute.

"It is probable, Mr. Potter. He came to know a few hours ago that Acquila is alive. It is possible that he had planned for Acquila to die as well the night her mother was killed. But now he must have realized that his plan failed."

"But why does he want his own daughter dead?"

"Nobody knows, Mr. Potter. The only one who can answer that is Sirius himself. I think he has escaped to get to Ms. Black and you."

"Me?" said Harry at the same time as Acquila said, "Harry?"

"Yes. As you know, Mr. Potter, Sirius was considered to be one of the right hand men of Voldemort. So it is quite possible that he will come looking for you to get revenge for Voldemort's fall."

Acquila's face contorted in fear, "No! He can't harm Harry!" she muttered, "I won't let anything happen to you," she said looking at Harry and clutching his hand tightly.

"And I won't let anything happen to you, Acquila."

Dumbledore smiled inwardly at the two children before him. He could feel a rise in the magic within the room. The protectiveness that Harry and Acquila displayed towards each other seemed to be strengthening the magic of their bond. Dumbledore's heightened magical senses could make out a very faint blue light encompassing Harry and Acquila.

"And I won't let anything happen to both of you!" he assured them. "Your safety is topmost on my list of priorities. I will ensure that Sirius Black cannot harm either of you."

"Thank you, Sir," they both said together.

"You are welcome, though there is no need of thanks. My students are my responsibility. And I owe it to James, Lily and Athena to ensure that their children are safe. Now there is one more thing I need to tell you both."

"Yes?" Aqcuila asked him.

"Have either of you heard of Dementors?"

Harry shook his head, indicating that he hadn't; while Acquila seemed to be trying to remember something.

"I had read about them, Sir. They guard Azkaban. And they suck all the happiness out of you," she shuddered.

"They do what?" asked Harry, thinking he had heard Acquila incorrectly.

"You heard Ms. Black correctly, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore and Harry wondered whether the headmaster could read his mind.

"Dementors are dark creatures. They are one of the foulest creatures which inhabit the earth. They feed off human happiness. They suck all joy, hope and peace out of the air around them. They cause darkness to close in and cause their victims to feel incredibly cold. They can glide toward a victim without sound, and they are sentient enough to taste and sense fear, being drawn to it and the promise of positive memories that it can feed off of. Those that are kept in the company of a Dementor for too long tend to become depressed, and are often driven insane. In addition to feeding on positive emotions, Dementors can perform their last and most dangerous ability: the Dementor's Kiss, in which a Dementor latches its mouth onto a victim's and sucks out the person's soul. The victim is left as an empty shell, incapable of thought and with no possibility of recovery."

Harry and Acquila were wide-eyed with fear and shock.

"You mean my father… I mean, Sirius has gone insane?"

"I doubt he has gone insane. From what the aurors at Azkaban told me, he was quite sane. He hadn't gone mad like the other prisoners there. He was sad and melancholy all the time, but not insane."

"Will… will they suck his soul out?" she asked him in a small voice.

"Yes. The Dementors have been given orders to give him the kiss as soon as they spot him."

Acquila was teary-eyed. She might hate her father for his deeds, but the thought of him living a soul-less life was eating at her heart.

"But, Sir!" Harry put in, "How can they do that? He might have killed fourteen people, but does he deserve to live life like that- without a soul, without feelings, without memories?"

"Would you have stood by your statement if it was your relatives that he killed?" Dumbledore asked him.

Harry seemed to debate the question in his mind, but then he finally said, "I would have, Sir. Nobody deserves something this horrible."

"That is noble thinking, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore as Acquila seemed to have calmed down.

"Now moving on to the important topic, the Minister has deemed it prudent to have Dementors at Hogwarts."

"What?" both the eleven-year olds exclaimed together.

"Yes. I could not convince him otherwise. Dementors will be taking guard at the boundaries of Hogwarts in some time. They will not enter the school grounds or the castle, but they will be roaming outside the castle to catch Sirius."

"But, Professor! You said they suck out happiness! They will affect all of us, all the students here!" Acquila said angrily.

"I know, Ms. Black. But the Minister refuses to see sense. And I cannot over-ride his decisions except for preventing entry of the Dementors within the castle grounds."

The two children nodded in defeat.

"Now, talking of Dementors at school, I need you both to understand very clearly that you are to always be with the other students or a prefect or a teacher. I do not want either of you to be roaming the school grounds, especially at night-time," the headmaster told them, reminiscing all the times he had noticed their fathers out of their dormitories after curfew.

"You both have gone through horrifying incidents when you were hardly fifteen months old. Though you may not remember the incidents, if you come across a Dementor, it may cause you to remember what you had seen or heard and thus cause you extreme distress. So, for your own good, I want you both to go nowhere unaccompanied."

Acquila and Harry nodded gravely, realising that the headmaster was referring to their parents' deaths.

"How do we counter a Dementor?" asked Harry, wanting to know how he could protect both him and Acquila in case they came across a Dementor.

"It takes advanced magic, Mr. Potter. Eleven- year old witches and wizards are not capable of it. Hence, I want you both to be safe and away from the foul creatures."

The children nodded in agreement.

"Is there anything else you need to ask me?" he asked them.

"No, Sir," they both replied.

"Then shall I escort you to Gryffindor Tower now?"

They both nodded and walked out of the office, followed by Dumbledore.

...

The next morning, Harry and Acquila left for the Great Hall for breakfast, with Ron following them.

"Are you fine?" Harry asked Acquila, he was worried about her after their meeting with Dumbledore.

"I'm fine, Harry," she replied, though she clearly was the exact opposite of fine.

After Acquila took a turn through the wrong corridor for the fifth time, Ron asked Harry in a whisper, "What's wrong with her today, mate?"

"You'll know soon enough," Harry replied, sure that the news of Black's escape would have made it to the headlines of all the newspapers in the wizarding world.

Ron seemed confused but prudently chose not to pry further.

As they reached the breakfast table, they could hear whispers all around them. They sat down and started eating but Acquila looked lost in her own thoughts, staring at nothing in particular. She seemed to be with them only in person and not in mind.

"Acquila, eat something. It'll help," Harry said, filling her plate with eggs and bacon.

"I'm not hungry," she said, still deep in thought. She was in a dilemma. She wanted Sirius to be caught soon, but deep down, she also wanted to meet him. She had spent years believing that both her parents were no more. And now, knowing that her father was alive, she wanted to meet him; and not just to demand answers for why he had her mother killed, why he wanted Acquila killed; but also because she wanted to meet her parent. She had never known how it was to see the people who led to her existence in flesh and blood. All she had of her parents was the photograph. She wanted to see her father with her own eyes; and deep down, though she knew she was wrong, she wanted get to know her father, interact with him. She let out a frustrated sigh. She would not let her emotions get the better of her. Sirius Black was a criminal, a murderer. That was all that she would think of him as.

Just then, Hermione got up from her seat next to Neville and came sprinting to where they were sitting, clutching onto the Daily Prophet.  
"Acquila! Your father, Sirius has escaped and it says in here that he's coming for you and Harry!" she said frantically and shoved the paper in Acquila's hands.

"B 'dy ell!" exclaimed Ron, with his mouth stuffed with food and Hermione stared at him in disgust.

"This is horrible!" he said after he had gulped it all down.

Acquila laid down the paper on the table; there was a large picture of a sunken faced man with long matted hair, blinking slowly at them. Acquila and Harry looked at each other, both of them were shocked at how Sirius' appearance had changed from the photograph that Acquila had. His handsome features had almost disappeared and he looked like a pirate right out of a muggle movie. Acquila turned her attention back to the newspaper and started reading.

**_SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES AZKABAN_**

_Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held at Azkaban , has escaped from the high security prison. The Ministry of Magic confirmed late last night that Black escaped Azkaban last evening._

_"We are already doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."_

_Fudge was further asked if Sirius Black's escape had anything to do with Acquila Black turning up at Hogwarts ten years after she was declared dead and her rumoured friend Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived; but the Minister declined to comment._

_Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis._

_"Well really! I had to, don't you know?" said irritable Fudge, "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it - who'd believe him if he did?"_

_While muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand which muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of ten years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse and is rumored to have ordered his wife and Aquila's mother, Athena Black (formerly McKinnon)'s murder._

_It still remains a mystery as to how Sirius Black managed to escape from Azkaban, which is heavily guarded by Dementors, just showing how dangerous he can be. His intentions are still unknown but the first probability that comes to mind is his innocent daughter Aquila Black and our hero Harry Potter._

_Sources in the ministry to wish to remain unnamed have informed us that Minister Fudge has deployed Dementors all over wizarding Britain to capture Black. They have been given orders to give him the Dementor's kiss on sight. It remains to be seen whether magical Britain agrees to Fudge's decision of the deployment of Dementors._

_Will Black be caught by our trusted aurors? Or will he manage to reach Acquila and Harry at Hogwarts? Only time will tell us._

Acquila looked up from the newspaper and turned to Harry. Harry looked at her worriedly; Ron looked at her with pity while Hermione was biting her already bitten nails. Acquila had half a mind to bang her head on the table; she was frustrated with reports about her appearing in the newspapers each day. And why did they have to drag Harry into this? As if the frequent glares and mutterings that she faced wasn't enough, now people would have something more to gossip about her. She was thoroughly fed up. Suddenly, she heard the headmaster's loud voice from the teachers' table.

"Everyone please settle down. I need to make an important announcement," he said gesturing for everyone to take their seats. "As most of you may already have read in the Daily Prophet, Sirius Black has escaped and may attempt to break into Hogwarts. The Minister of Magic has ordered for Dementors to guard the castle. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. You will be escorted by your teacher to the Herbology classes as well as Care of magical creatures' classes as they both are located outside the castle on the school grounds. I look at the Prefects and our new Head boy and Head girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the Dementors."

Percy, who was sitting a few seats along from Harry, puffed out his chest and stared around impressively. Dumbledore paused and looked very seriously around the Hall, and nobody moved or made a sound. He was clearly not happy with Dementors guarding Hogwarts.

"The announcements are over, you may continue with breakfast." Dumbledore said, and sat down in his seat and dropped into a deep discussion with Professor McGonagall.

"Bloody Hell! Dementors at Hogwarts! Mum is not going to be happy about this," Ron said, looking positively frightened.

"This is not good," Hermione said shaking her head, "Are you both alright?"

"Yeah!" both Harry and Acquila answered simultaneously, looking even more distressed than before.

...

Professor Sprout, their Herbology teacher was to escort them to Greenhouse 1 as per Dumbledore's instructions. Hermione walked ahead, talking to an excited Neville about Herbology. Ron walked with a bored expression on his face behind Hermione and Neville; while Harry and Acquila who were engrossed in their own discussion had fallen way behind their three classmates. Suddenly, Malfoy and his cronies way-laid them as they walked.

"Let us go, Malfoy. We are getting late for class," Harry said, taking Acquila's hand and trying to pass through the Slytherin trio.

"How are you Acquila? I guess you read about your father escaping?" Malfoy asked ignoring Harry completely. "If you need anyone to talk to I am always there for you," he said, genuinely concerned.

"I will be fine, Draco. Thanks for asking," she replied, pleased that her cousin cared for her. Draco smiled at her, but as his eyes fell on Acquila's hand which was clasped in Harry's, he seemed enraged.

"You don't need to be in the company of Potter, Weasley and Tonks. You are a daughter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. You are the Black Heiress! You should be around people like you- pure-bloods. You should choose friends who would befit the House of Black. And people like Potter, Weasely and Tonks aren't meant to be befriended by a daughter of the House of Black. You should be with me, Acquila; not him," he said pointing rudely at Harry.

Acquila flared up with anger. Why did Draco behave this way? Every time she thought she could be friends with her cousin, he said something to insult Harry.

"I can choose my friends for myself, Draco. As you said, I am a daughter of the House of Black, so I think I am capable enough of choosing my friends. I do not need you to do that for me," Acquila said calmly.

"Now let us pass through," she commanded and with one last glare at Draco, she dragged Harry behind her to the castle grounds. She did not notice the fleeting expression of hurt on Draco's face.

Draco just did not understand that girl. Why would she choose Potter over him? Draco did genuinely care for Acquila. She was his cousin and would be his wife a few years down the line. She was a pure-blood; a Black. Why couldn't she understand what was expected of her? He just wanted to see her happy. And he wanted her happiness to lie with him, Draco; not the Potter brat. He shook his head in confusion and hurt. But then, he smirked to himself. He was a Malfoy. And even if Potter was closer to Acquila now, in the end she would be Draco's; no matter what.

They ran to catch up with the rest of their class, but it seemed that they had already left for Greenhouse One as there was no one at the entrance of the castle.

"What do we do now? We don't even know where the Greenhouse is!" Acquila exclaimed.

"It must be somewhere on the grounds. We'll walk around and look for it," Harry suggested.

"There are Dementors in the grounds. We can't go unaccompanied," Acquila reasoned.

"We don't have any other option. The classes have started."

"Umm… Ok…" she said, still unsure if it was wise to go alone.

They went out onto the grounds and started looking for Greenhouse One but they could not spot it anywhere. Finally, after a few minutes they saw the greenhouse in the distance and started sprinting towards it.

Mid-way, they felt the surrounding air go cold. The grass below their feet turned to ice. And it was then that they saw two cloaked creatures with hoods gliding towards them; Dementors!

...

A few hours after he got the letter, Remus could be seen walking through Circe's Alley towards the pub. The trunk containing his belongings was shrunk magically and was lying in the inner pocket of his robes. He finally reached the place Dumbledore had mentioned and spotted the old cannons' jersey lying on the ground. He took a last look around followed by a deep breath and held on to the portkey. A few seconds later, he felt a massive jerk around his navel and then found himself sprawled on the grounds just beyond the boundaries of the one place which had made him what he was- Hogwarts.

He stood up and brushed the dirt off his robes, when suddenly, his werewolf senses could feel fear and desperation in the air. He looked around and just two hundred metres away, he could see two Dementors circling a couple of children- a boy and a girl. As Remus began running towards the scene as fast as he could, he saw the boy push the girl behind him in an attempt to shield her from the Dementors, but a few seconds later, he screamed and fainted, falling down on the ground. The girl's face meanwhile, was scrunched in fear and grief. One of the Dementors turned towards the girl, while the other bent down to face the boy. Remus turned his wand towards them, and thought of the happiness he felt when Dumbledore had first told him that he would be able to attend Hogwarts despite his lycanthrophy; and he bellowed at the Dementors, "Expecto Patronum!" A silver wolf shot out of his wand and charged at the foul creatures, driving them away.

And as the girl stared at him with grey eyes full of gratitude, he realised who she was. Acquila Black. He paused momentarily in his tracks, before continuing further. She looked just like Sirius, but for the feminine dainty bent of her features. Her curly black hair was rustling in the wind as she bent down to try to revive the unconscious boy, her eyes brimming with unshed tears for the boy. And it was then that he noticed who the boy was. He looked just like James, except for his thin built; his messy raven hair fell onto his forehead, hiding the scar. It was Harry.

...

A few minute ago

Harry and Acquila tried to back away, but the hooded Dementors were much faster than them. Acquila felt as if there was no happiness in the world, just despair and grief. Suddenly, as the Dementors neared them, Harry pushed Acquila behind him in a bid to protect her from them. But the next moment, Harry dropped down to the ground and covered his ears as if someone was screaming into his ears.

Before Acquila could bend down to move towards Harry, she suddenly saw the slightly blurred, mousey face of a man with pale blonde hair and blue eyes. She could hear a woman screaming at him but couldn't make out the words. She felt fear creeping through her veins. A flash of green light raced towards her but it hit the woman who was screaming instead. And then the rat-faced man turned his wand towards Acquila. As Acquila began to scream, out of nowhere she saw a silver, opaque wolf running towards the ghostly figure of the Dementor, driving it away. And she felt herself crawl back to normalcy. Her surroundings looked bright again. She looked at the man who was approaching them with gratitude, realising that he had driven the Dementors away. She then tried to revive Harry, but he seemed to have fainted. She shook him roughly, trying to make him come back to consciousness, but he didn't.

As Remus took out the bar of chocolate from his robes, he remembered a similar scene from his second year when he, Peter and Sirius had become frantic as James who had fallen off his broom during Quiddich practice, refused to awaken from his bout of unconsciousness. Harry and Acquila seemed to be friends. And he was sure that their friendship had started long before Hogwarts, judging Acquila's concern for Harry. Friendship. Remus knew exactly what friendship meant. And he was glad that though Harry and Acquila had lived their entire childhood without a family, they still had each other's friendship to make their lives better.

He bent down and took a look at Harry.

"What happened to him? Is he going to be fine?" Aquila asked worriedly.

"Don't worry. He has fainted. He'll wake up," The man assured her and turned his wand towards Harry saying, "Ennervate!" Harry woke up, rubbing his eyes and clutching his forehead.

"What happe.." Before Harry could complete his sentence Acquila hugged him.

"Thank God, you are alright! I was so worried!" she said to him.

"Take these," the man offered them a bar of chocolate. "You'll feel better."

Harry took the chocolate from him and so did Acquila. As she took a bite she felt warmth spread through her body. She felt much better.

"Let's take both of you to the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore is going to be very angry when he hears about this." He said and summoned the wolf from his wand, telling it to tell Dumbledore to come to the Hospital Wing. The wolf sprinted towards the castle.

"Will you be able to walk?" the man asked Harry.

"Yes. I feel better now, after having the chocolate," Harry replied.

"Were those dementors, Sir?" Acquila asked as they helped Harry to his feet.

"Yes, they were. It's a good thing I was passing by," The man replied.

"Oh my God!" Acquila mumbled, shivering at the thought of what would have happened if man had not saved them.

"Why were you alone on the grounds? And what are Dementors doing at Hogwarts?" he asked them.

"We were supposed walk with the rest of the class, but we fell behind them. The Dementors are here to capture Sirius Black if he is spotted. He escaped Azkaban yesterday," Harry told him.

As they reached the Hospital Wing, Acquila said, "Thank you for saving our lives Mr. ….."

"Lupin, Remus Lupin."

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin," both the children said together.

As they walked in, they could hear loud voices.

"This is preposterous! How could you allow Dementors on Hogwarts grounds? This is just the first day and we have an attack. Merlin knows how many more poor children will be targeted by those God-forsaken creatures," Madam Pomfrey was red in the face from all the screaming.

"Poppy, you have to understand. If I had it my way, Dementors would never have been posted here, but it was the Minister's orders," Dumbledore tried to explain calmly.

"Albus, here are your students," Lupin said, entering with Harry and Acquila.

As soon as she saw the kids, Madam Pomfrey stepped into action.

"Come on here, kids. Lie down, lie down," she said.

Both Harry and Acquila lay on adjacent beds. Madam Pomfrey first examined Acquila and then Harry.  
"Both of you look alright, it's a good thing you ate chocolate immediately. I'll give you a calming draught to calm your nerves. You will be ready to leave in a couple of hours," she said smiling at both of them and she went to her office to get the required potions.

"How are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked both of them.

"Fine," Harry answered.

"Better, especially after Mr. Lupin gave us some chocolate," Acquila replied smiling at Remus.

"Ah! Chocolate is the best remedy to wear off the Dementors' effects; quick thinking on Mr. Lupin's part."  
He turned to Remus and said, "Let's head to my office. We have an important matter to discuss."

He turned back to Harry and Acquila and said, "Take care, Mr. Potter, Ms. Black. And next time, avoid leaving the castle without a teacher."

"Yes Professor. We promise this won't happen again," Harry said and Acquila nodded.

Remus looked at them again, restraining his immense urge to give them both a hug, and then made to follow the headmaster. Just as he was about to exit, a dash of pink came sprinting in and collided right into him.

"Oh Merlin! I'm so sorry. I should have been looking," said the pink-haired girl, her hair turning into a bright shade of red.

"It's alright!" Lupin said, straightening his robes. Tonks continued staring at the sandy-haired wizard, a love-struck expression on her face. Remus blushed and looked away.

"Ms. Tonks, shouldn't you be in class?" Dumbledore asked her, his eyes twinkling.

And that is when she noticed Dumbledore standing right there, "Oh… I…I'm sorry Professor, I was in class and I saw Acquila and Harry walking towards the Hospital Wing and I wanted to know if they were fine," she said quickly, hoping the headmaster wouldn't mind her missing the class.

"It is alright, Ms. Tonks. You can meet them," Dumbledore said, happy to see the girl's concern for her cousin.

When she reached Acquila's bed, Madam Pomfrey was giving them the calming draught.

"Don't take more than ten minutes. They need to rest for a few hours." Madam Pomfrey told Dora.

"Yes, I won't take long." Dora assured her.

"How are you?" she asked Acquila, "What happened?"

"I'm okay. We were attacked by Dementors…"

"Merlin! You were attacked by Dementors! How are you?" Dora exclaimed.

"We're fine now. But it was horrible."

"Yeah. Everything started to freeze, the air and the grass… everything." Harry shuddered.

"Why were you covering your ears?" Acquila asked suddenly.

"I could hear a woman screaming. Couldn't you?" Harry asked.

"No. I saw a strange-looking man and then I heard a woman screaming at him but I couldn't make out the words. Then I felt very scared and I saw a green light racing towards me but it hit the woman. And then it all disappeared when I saw the shining wolf," said Acquila

"Did you faint too?" Harry asked.

"No. I didn't."

"How did I faint? I didn't see a wolf either," Harry said wondering why he fainted when Acquila did not. He felt quite embarrassed.

But Tonks intervened, "Shining wolf? Where did that come from?"

"Remus Lupin created the wolf; the man who saved us. He just left. Did you not see him as you came in?" Acquila asked.

"Oh! So his name is Remus Lupin," Tonks said more to herself than the kids; her cheeks tinged pink. As Acquila looked at her in confusion, she came back to the topic at hand.

"That must have been Mr. Lupin's Patronus. When a Patronus charm is used against Dementors, it drives them away. Each wizard's Patronus takes the form of a different animal. A Patronus charm can only be produced by thinking of our happiest memories. While the Dementors make us relive our worst memories," Dora explained.

"So, the screaming that Harry heard and the scene that I saw were our bad memories. That's why Professor Dumbledore had warned us to keep away from them…" Acquila said and looked at Harry, both realizing that their worst memories pertained to their parents' deaths.

Suddenly, Draco Malfoy barged in; he seemed to have run all the way to the Hospital Wing.

"Acquila! Are you alright? I heard you were in the Hospital Wing and there is a stupid rumour doing rounds that you were attacked by Dementors," he said.

"I'm fine. And I _was_ attacked by Dementors! All thanks to you!" Acquila said, her earlier anger at her unabated.

"Me? What did I do?" Draco asked, bewildered.

"_You _were the reason Harry and I got late for Herbology and we had to find our way alone to the Greenhouse and that is where we got attacked."

Draco erupted in anger. "I told you not to hang around with people like Potter. He couldn't even protect you. If I was me instead of him there, you wouldn't be here in the Hospital Wing."

"Don't you dare blame this on Harry! It wasn't his fault! Now leave! We have to rest!" Acquila said, turning away from Malfoy.

"How come the half-blood gets to sit here and I don't? Why do you keep pushing me away from you, Acquila? And yet you befriend riff-raff like Potter and Tonks! They don't even deserve you! You are better than them! And you should be with people who are worthy of being your friends! " Malfoy spat at her.

"I told you not to insult my friends! You have no right to decide the company I keep! I have had enough of you!" Acquila screamed at him, enraged and the next moment, his pale blonde hair turned red with golden tips; his hair stood up like the quills of a porcupine! Harry and Tonks took one look at Draco and burst out laughing.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Malfoy asked.

By that time, even Acquila had started laughing uncontrollably and as Malfoy simultaneously caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror hung on the wall.

"Nooooo!" he screamed, "My hair! What have you done!" he pulled at his hair frantically.

"I have Gryffindor hair! My father will hear about this!" he thundered and ran out of the Hospital Wing screaming. A few seconds later he came back in, still screaming and ran towards Madam Pomfrey who had come out of her office on hearing the commotion.

"Change it back! Change it back now!" He yelled at Madam Pomfrey.

" Calm down, boy! Looks like you need some calming draught too!"She said, controlling her laughter and went back to her office to the get the vial. She came back and put Draco behind a screen, "Lie down here, Boy. I will get the potions to set your hair right."

Harry, Acquila and Dora were still laughing. A few minutes later, when they had calmed down Dora said, "I owled my mom about you. She can't wait to meet you! She even asked Dumbledore for permission to meet you at Hogwarts, but he refused," she told Acquila. "And she has invited you for Christmas. And Harry, she wants you to come as well. Did you know you are related to us? Your grandmother Dorea was a Black. You are a distant cousin to both me and Acquila! You will come, won't you?"

"You both are my cousins! Wow! It's good to have cousins other than Dudley!" he chuckled.

"We will come, Dora!" Acquila said immediately, excited about spending Christmas with her relatives and Harry.

"Now I better leave or Madam Pomfrey will throw me out. See you both at dinner," Dora said and left after giving Acquila as well as Harry a kiss on their foreheads.

"Bye, Dora!" They both waved goodbye at her.

Harry and Acquila then got into a long discussion about what they would gift Tonks at Christmas.

Malfoy, who was behind the screen, waiting for the nurse to come back with the potion, did not look pleased at all. He was boiling with rage. Acquila could not spend Christmas with the Tonks; and especially not with Potter there. He would have to write to his mother about this.

...

As Remus followed Dumbledore to his office, he was fuming with rage.

"How did you let this happen, Dumbledore?" he asked as soon as he sat down.

"Dementors at Hogwarts! What if I had not reached on time? What if they harmed Harry and Acquila?" he demanded, shuddering at the thought of the Dementors sucking out their souls.

"I couldn't convince Fudge. He was adamant at positioning Dementors at the school grounds to look for Black. And I had told the children to avoid venturing onto the grounds unless accompanied by a teacher or a prefect. But don't worry. Nothing like this will happen again. I am going to have a long talk with Fudge. No Dementor will set foot in the grounds again, I give you my word."

Lupin calmed down slightly. "And what about Siri... Black? How did he escape?"

Dumbledore told Remus about his discussion with Kingsley and Fudge the previous night.

"You really think he is out to harm Harry and Acquila?"

"I am afraid, it is so, Remus. But don't you worry. Nothing will happen to either of the kids till I am here. I promise you."

Lupin nodded. "I am renting a room at Hogsmeade. I want to stay close to the kids; protect them from Black if need arises."

"Very well, Remus. I will keep you informed of the developments. Let me know where you will be staying."

Lupin nodded in agreement and prepared to depart the headmaster's office.

...

On the warm Wednesday morning, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were seated in the enormous drawing room of Malfoy Manor. Lucius was busy reading a parchment on which details of the Malfoy properties all over Britain were listed. Narcissa was going through the guest-list of the annual Yule Ball at the Manor, for want of something better to do. She usually started the preparations for the ball at the beginning of December; but now, with Draco at Hogwarts, she had nothing to do. Malfoy women were not supposed to work; they just remained at the Manor to take care of their children as she had been doing for the past ten years. But now, there was a void in her life with Draco spending a majority of the year at school. As she sat thinking affectionately of her only son, she saw a large spotted white owl flying in through the window.

"Finally!" said Narcissa. "I was waiting for Elatus to bring in Draco's letter. The boy did not write to us yesterday."

The owl flew down to the table, holding its claw forward for Narcissa to detach the letter. Narcissa delicately untied the letter from the owl's claw and the owl affectionately nibbled on her finger; and then looked at her questioningly, as if to ask her whether she wished to send back a reply with it.

"No, Elatus. I will send Draco a reply later. You may proceed to Hogwarts. Wait… Dobby!" she called out to the house-elf and a split-second later, a tiny elf wearing a tattered tea-cosy stood in front of the lady.

"Yes, Mistress?" it said meekly.

"Send the chocolate cookies you made last evening with Elatus. Draco is quite partial to the cookies."

"Dobby is doing as mistress said," said the elf and grabbing hold of the owl, he disapparated with a crack.

Narcissa unfurled the letter, and he eyes narrowed as they passed over the contents of the letter.

"Lucius?" she said, but the Malfoy patriarch remained silent. She waited patiently till Lucius finally looked up from his parchment.

"Yes, Narcissa," he said.

"Acquila charmed Draco's hair. His hair turned red and gold! Gryffindor colours!" she said with distaste.

"She did what?" Lucius said angrily, "How dare that brat play pranks on Draco!"

"She doesn't know the ways of pure-bloods, Lucius. I think we can let the matter pass; because we have a greater problem at hand."

"A problem? Is this regarding the Black girl as well?"

"Yes, Lucius. Draco says that Acquila is friendly with people she should keep away from- like the Potter boy, one of the Weasely brats and…" she hesitated, "and the blood-traitor's daughter."

"Blood traitor? You mean Andromeda's daughter?" he said, uttering his sister-in-law's name as if it was something disgusting.

"Yes. Her daughter, Nymphadora."

"Nymphadora, is it? The blood-traitor betrayed the Blacks, but named her daughter in keeping with the Black family traditions?"

Narcissa said nothing in response; the mention of her sister had given rise to conflicting feelings within her. She should have been used to it by now, but wasn't. The thought of either of her sisters always gave rise to a wide conundrum of emotions within Narcissa- anger, regret, love, loneliness, powerlessness. Lucius noticed his wife deep in thought and cleared his throat, which brought Narcissa out of her reverie.

"Oh yes. Draco says that the blood-traitor's daughter is getting quite close to Acquila. They seem to share a good rapport and he overheard her telling Acquila that Andro… that her mother wanted to meet her and that she was invited over to their house for Christmas. Acquila and the Potter boy were distressed due to coming upon some Dementors yesterday morning and when Draco went to see Acquila in the Hospital Wing, she was rude to Draco and made it amply clear to him that she can choose her friends well and she will continue being close to Nymphadora."

"Ah! That is not a good thing for us, is it? We cannot have Andromeda taking the Black girl under her wing. She is going to be betrothed to Draco in future; she will be the lady of Malfoy Manor. We cannot let her get too close to Andromeda. "

"Yes. I will not have her living with the Tonks for the Christmas holidays. She has to come here; and then we can introduce her to pure-blood society at the ball. Lucius, we have to do something soon. I think we should apply for guardianship of Acquila. I will not have Andromeda taking over the girl and feeding her anti-pure-blood propaganda."

"You are right, Cissy. We will apply for legal guardianship of the girl. With Sirius on the run from prison, I am sure Fudge will want to deal with the matter soon. Fudge fears that Black will go to Hogwarts to either harm or claim his daughter. We should make our move before his fears come true. And that will also keep Andromeda away from the girl."

"But you know the laws, Lucius. Andromeda is elder to me. She may get preference over me if she decides to fight us before the Wizengamot. And if they take the views of the girl into consideration, as per to what Draco has described her, she might opt for Andromeda over us. We have to do something soon, before things start going against us."

"Do not worry. All I need to do is loosen a few purse-strings and assure Fudge of my backing in case his place as Minister is challenged. I may need to alternatively bribe or threaten a few members of the Wizengamot to vote in our favour. Do not worry. I will handle the situation. You will file a petition for her guardianship before the end of the week. And within a month's time, maybe even less; we will have gained custody of the Black girl."

Narcissa smiled slightly. Her husband was a Malfoy, and Malfoys always got what they wanted. He would keep his word. She would have Acquila as her ward in a month's time. And by the time of the ball, all of Britain's pure-blood society would have met with her future daughter-in-law and the key to the Black title and fortune.

...

It was Friday morning. At the start-of-the term banquet, Harry and Acquila had got the idea that Professor Snape didn't like them very much, but they were wrong. Snape didn't dislike them, he _hated_ them.

They had double Potions with the Slytherins on Friday. Potions lessons took place in the dungeons, where it was colder than it was in the main castle. When they entered class they spotted Malfoy sitting with Pansy Parkinson; but as soon as he noticed Acquila he almost pushed Pansy off her seat and called out to Acquila to sit with him. Acquila just ignored him and followed Harry. Hermione had taken the first seat in the class and Harry and Acquila occupied the seat behind her. Ron didn't want to sit with Hermione, moreover he didn't want to sit on the first bench but as no other option was available, he grudgingly took the seat next to Hermione. The lecture started with Snape taking everyone's attendance and he immediately stopped on Acquila's name.

"Ah! Yes! Our celebrity! Gracing the front page of the Daily Prophet ever since you stepped in Hogwarts. You don't look so good since your father escaped," he sneered at her and continued with the attendance.

Acquila went red with rage and so did Harry. Just as Acquila was about to retort, Harry caught her hand to calm her down. He didn't want her getting a detention. Some seconds later, Snape paused on Harry's name.

"Another celebrity! No different from Ms. Black!" At this the Slytherins sniggered and Harry was finding it even more difficult not to react. Finally, after Snape finished calling the names he looked up at the class with his black, steely and cold eyes.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't except you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory or even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads I usually have to teach."

Silence followed this speech and Harry turned to look at Acquila with raised eyebrows but she looked quite confident and it seemed that she could do all that Snape mentioned. Then Harry turned to Ron who was sitting in front of him, and he was glad to see that Ron seemed just as scared and clueless like him. Ron was continuously looking at Hermione who looked like she couldn't wait any longer to start brewing a potion to prove she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry looked utterly confused and turned to Acquila who was trying to mouth something but Harry couldn't understand her, so chose to look at Ron who looked like he was praying not to be the next target; Hermione on the other hand had her hand raised to its fullest length.

"I don't know, sir." Harry finally answered seeing no way out of it.

"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything," Snape said ignoring Hermione's hand. "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione's hand shot up again.

"I don't know, Sir," Harry replied yet again.

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape asked, still ignoring Hermione.

This time Hermione was almost off her seat trying to catch Snape's eye.

"I don't know, but I think Hermione does. Why don't you try her?" Harry replied.

A few people laughed including Acquila; Harry caught Seamus' eye and Seamus winked at him. However, Snape wasn't pleased.

"Sit down!" he snapped at Hermione. He then turned to Acquila and said, "Black, You give me the answers to the questions I asked Potter."

Without taking so much as a moment to think she answered, "Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful that it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, which goes by the name aconite."

The whole class looked completely shocked and so did Snape. He was momentarily speechless; he hadn't been expecting Acquila to reply considering that she had realized that magic existed just a few days ago. Hermione was the only one who looked positively upset as she did not get the opportunity to answer and Acquila had stolen her 'shining' moment.

"Why aren't you all copying this down?" Snape screamed when he recovered from his momentary shock.

"And Black, you are fortunate enough to have inherited your mother's brains and not your imbecile father's," he sneered at her again.

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the lesson progressed. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mix up a simple potion to cure boils. He was going around class criticizing everyone except for Malfoy, who he seemed to like. Suddenly, Neville's cauldron started emitting an acid green colour, by the time Snape reached him, Neville had somehow managed to turn Seamus' cauldron into a twisted blob and drenched himself in the potion. Angry red boils had started erupting all over his arms and legs.

"Take him to the Hospital Wing," Snape spat at Seamus as he cleared the spilled potion with a swing of his wand. Then he rounded in on Harry and Acquila, who had been working next to Neville and Seamus. Their potion seemed to be up to mark (All thanks to Acquila), irritating the greasy-haired professor who found nothing wrong with their potion to deduct points for.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor! Ten points each for distracting Longbottom and for spoiling his potion to make your potion look good!"

Harry opened his mouth to argue how unfair it was, but Acquila kicked him under the table and whispered, "Don't push it, he'll deduct more points."

As they climbed out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry and Aquila's spirits were low. They had lost twenty points for Gryffindor in their very first week .Why did Snape hate them so much? And how did he know Acquila's parents?

"Cheer up, both of you," said Ron. "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George."

"I guess it's alright." Acquila said, still sounding sad.

"I know what will cheer you up!" Harry said. "Come to Hagrid's with me. He has invited me for tea. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you come along."

"Yes. I'd love to," Acquila answered, sounding excited.

"Can I come too?" Ron asked Harry, hoping to join them.

"Sure. You can come too." Harry said.

"But Harry, his hut is on the Hogwarts grounds and further off than the Greenhouses. We can't go there unaccompanied," Acquila said, remembering what had happened on Tuesday.

"Hagrid is coming to pick us up at the castle entrance." Harry assured her.

"Ok. Let's go then." Acquila said, taking the lead.

They met up with Hagrid, who was carrying a huge rat-like creatures hanging on ropes and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A crossbow was outside the front door. He opened the door and a large black boarhound came running towards them.

"Stay Fang, stay," Hagrid said, and the dog calmed down.

They entered and saw that there was only one room. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire and in a corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

"Make yourselves at home," Hagrid said. As Ron sat down on one of the wooden chairs, Fang bounded straight at him and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.

"This is Acquila and this is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.

"Ah! Acquila Black, eh! Glad te meet yah," he said offering a rock cake to her.

"Glad to meet you too, Sir!" Acquila said, taking a cake.

"Jus' call me Hagrid," he said and walked towards Ron.

"Another Weasley, eh?" he said glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the Forest."

The rock cakes almost broke their teeth, but trio pretended to enjoy them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.

They were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch that old git'.  
"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang some time. D'yeh know, everytime I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her - Filch puts her up to it."

They told Harry about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry and Acquila not to worry about it and that Snape liked hardly any of the students.

"But he seemed to really hate us," Acquila said.

"Rubbish!" said Hagrid, "Why should he?"

Yet, both Harry and Acquila couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet their eyes when he said that.

"How is yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot - great with animals."

Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Harry all about Charlie's work with dragons and Acquila was listening interestedly to him, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cosy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:

**_GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST_**

_Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown.  
Gringotts' goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.  
"But we are not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon._

"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"

There was no doubt about it; Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry didn't push the subject further.

After they left from Hagrid's Harry told both Acquila and Ron, "Hagrid is definitely hiding something. When I asked him about the Gringotts break in he didn't answer me."

"Yeah. I noticed that too," Ron said.

"But what could he be hiding? He was with you the whole day, right?" Acquila asked.

"Yes. I don't think he was involved in trying to steal it but, the vault that was searched had been emptied the same day and when I had gone there with him to Gringotts, Hagrid had taken out a grubby looking package which was the only thing in the vault," Harry recollected.

"That means he emptied the vault," Acquila said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, exactly!"

"What was in the package?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. Hagrid wouldn't tell me. He said it was some secret job that Dumbledore had entrusted to him," Harry replied.

"Oh! Then the package must be the very thing that the thief was after," Acquila said.

"I think so too," said Harry as the three of them walked back to the castle.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much for the reviews! Hope you all like this chapter! It's the longest one I've written-17000+ words!

**Mistressofthedark12:** Sirius will be free of charges soon. As for the outcome of the hearing, you'll know soon! :-)

**Magicheart5355**, **xxsunnyxblackxx**, **akasanta and ****merida:** hope you like this chapter too.

**Martin Blue:** hope you agree with my portrayal of the Malfoys in this chapter

**Gryffindordragon:** 'Acquila' is a variant of the Latin word 'Aquila' which as you pointed out, means eagle. More about her name will be revealed a few chapters later. As for Moody getting custody, I have explained it in this chapter

**Guest:** I love Andromeda too! There's going to be a lot of her in this fic. And Remus too!

**Anonymous**, Andromeda can't apply for Harry as the Dursleys are his closest bloodrelatives :-( But don't worry, we'll see Harry with her soon ;-)

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, Sirius Black would never have fallen through the evil veil! He would have lived a long, happy life... Long enough to babysit Harry's grandchildren.

And since none of that happened, I do not own Harry Potter. It all belongs to JKR, except for any original characters.

Recognizable parts of this chapter are taken from Books 1, 3 and 5.

**Chapter 9: Hoping against hope**

The dog walked through Hogsmeade, its hind legs aching from walking over long distances for a week. Its stomach rumbled with hunger. A young girl passing by him looked at him with pity.

"Mamma, mamma! The poor dog seems hungry; can't we feed it something?" she tugged at her mother's hand.

"Oh alright, my dear," she said lovingly, caressing her daughter's hair. "Let us buy a loaf of bread for the dog," she said and walks towards the Baker's shop.

The dog's breath hitched in its throat as it saw the mother-daughter duo walk off towards the shop. Sirius imagined Athena caressing Acquila's hair like the lady had. His beautiful Athena-always full of life, kind, loving… he remembered how she had doted on their daughter after Acquila was born; all the dreams she had seen for Acquila… If it wasn't for the traitor Pettigrew, it would have been Athena and he, Sirius who would have seen Acquila off Kings' Cross Station on September, 1. It would have been Athena who would have read bed-time stories to their beautiful daughter; Sirius would have hugged her and tended to her wounds if she scraped her knee, he would have taught her to fly on a broomstick; they both would have taken their daughter to Diagon Alley to get her wand, her robes, her pet… But he and Athena could do nothing of that. Sirius spent ten years languishing in prison, Athena was somewhere in the heavens, probably watching over her daughter and cursing Sirius for not having protected their child; and their little daughter spent her entire childhood in a Muggle orphanage, probably assuming that no one cared enough for her to take her home from the orphanage. A single tear fell down the dog's grey eyes as he thought of the life which he and his family missed out on.

"Aww! Look, Mamma! The dog is crying!" he heard a sweet voice say. It was the girl again.

"Here, doggy! Eat this! You are so thin; I can see your ribs!" she fed him the loaf of bread as her other hand caressed his furry coat which was matted with mud and dust.

"Mamma! The dog is so filthy! Can we take him home? I'll take care of him; I'll give it a bath and take it for walks. Please, Mamma! Can we take him home?" he heard the girl say. He was slightly shocked that the girl was unafraid of him, despite his huge size. Children generally tended to run away from him, thanks to the menacing form and huge size of the Grim that he was.

"No, Stephanie. We can't take the dog home. Papa is allergic to dogs.""But Mamma, he can stay in the shed. I won't let him go close to Papa.""No, darling. We can't. Now let's head home," said the mother, catching hold of the girl's hand.

"Bye doggy! I will come to see you again with another loaf of bread," the girl said to the dog with a last pat on its head.

The dog heaved a sigh of relief. Sirius did not want the girl to take him home with her. It wasn't that he did not want the comfort of a house and the assurance of a steady supply of food; but he had far more important things to do. His hunger somewhat satisfied, he started walking towards the Forbidden Forest. He would kill the rat, wherever he was lying hidden. But he wouldn't repeat the mistake he made ten years ago. He would put his family before revenge, not the other way round. He would claim his daughter and godson and then hunt down the rat and prove his innocence. He did want revenge; but he wanted his family more. And Sirius Black always ensured that he got what he wanted.

...

Narcissa Malfoy walked through the corridors of the Ministry of Magic. As always, most of the people who spotted her seemed in awe of her, some of them looked at her in fear; but she was used to all of it. Being a Black, and then a Malfoy, she knew that people always took notice of her. Wherever she went, she had appearances to maintain. She walked with her head held high, gracefully gliding rather than walking, her black robes a sharp contrast to her pale skin. She hardly ever ventured into the Ministry. Lucius generally took care of all the legal issues himself, like all Malfoy patriarchs did. But today, it was Narcissa who had to handle the matter at hand. She would file an appeal with the Department of Family Affairs, portraying herself as the caring aunt who wanted the best for her niece. If all went well, she would get custody of Acquila without any hassles. But Narcissa knew that once Andromeda got wind of her petition for Acquila's guardianship, she would definitely file an appeal of her own and the matter would be taken to the Wizengamot. But the Malfoys were prepared for the eventuality. No matter what the cost, Acquila would be theirs.

The Department of Family affairs hardly ever saw any visitors. Wizards and witches generally did not separate or divorce; separating from a spouse was almost unheard of in pure-blood society. The only people who visited the department were generally those who wanted to file an appeal for claiming the guardianship of orphans, but the number of people wanting to do so was negligible since the destruction of Voldemort. During Voldemort's reign, there were a large number of orphaned children who had their entire families wiped out. But after the Dark Lord's fall, all was well.

Narcissa finally reached the Department of Family Affairs and walked towards Maryann, the witch in charge of the department. The witch looked up as Narcissa approached her, but seemed unflustered. Narcissa inwardly smirked at herself, Maryann did not seem to be someone who would be intimidated by the Narcissa.

"Good morning!"

"Morning, Mrs. Malfoy. What brings you here to grace my office with your presence?" Maryann said sarcastically. Narcissa realised that the dealing with the witch would be quite a challenging prospect, and a Black always loved facing challenges.

"Why! Thanks for the flattery, madam!" Narcissa smirked as Maryann pursed her lips, probably in an effort to bite back a rude comment.

"Can we get to the point?"

"Well, why not? I am here to file a petition to claim the guardianship of my niece, Ms. Acquila Black."

Whatever the witch was expecting, it definitely wasn't this. She stared at Narcissa, temporarily speechless.

"You want guardianship of Ms. Acquila Black?" she asked her.

"Yes, Ms. Maryann. Why is that such a surprising thing? She is my niece; the last of the Blacks. Why would I not want to provide her with the best? All I want is the girl's good. And her good lies in living with her family, her blood relatives, not the people in that Muggle orphanage," she said with conviction.

"But, Mrs. Malfoy, I never thought of the Malfoys as people who wanted good for others, especially the daughter of Athena McKinnon whom your husband was known to hate. Why do I feel that the reason you are here is for the good of the girl, but the good of the Malfoys. Do you not crave the Black fortune?" she said shrewdly to Narcissa.

Narcissa's grey eyes grew cold, but her face showed nothing of her anger at the witch's words.

"I am a mother myself. I wouldn't want the girl to live a motherless life. And we are financially well endowed to take care of the girl, even without access to her fortune. We are Malfoys..."

"Which is why I wonder what ulterior motive you possess for applying for the girl's guardianship. Because you are a Malfoy," she interrupted Narcissa.

"It is not up to you to decipher our motives. I come here with honourable intentions, wanting the best for my dear niece. Kindly do the needful and let me know if I have to go through any more formalities for claiming guardianship of Acquila. You can address your letters to Malfoy Manor. Thank you," she said with a majestic air, and then walked away.

Maryann Clarke glared at the retreating figure of Narcissa. She was a Muggle-born witch and had had first hand experience of the vile nature of the Malfoys. Lucius Malfoy had murdered her brother in broad daylight in the middle of Diagon Alley. And though after Voldemort's fall, he had claimed to be imperiused into committing the atrocities which he had, Maryann knew that he was lying. He was a Death Eater and would always remain loyal to the dark side.

Which is why, she wanted to save little Acquila Black from coming under the influence of the Malfoys. Since she was the head of the Department, she decided to talk to the girl before coming to a decision. She could not deny Narcissa custody of the girl as it would go against the laws. But she would try to make it tough for Narcissa to get what she wanted.

...

The first year Gryffindors had flying lessons on Thursday with Slytherin. At the breakfast table, Hermion had irritated them all with flying tips she'd got out of a library book called 'Quidditch through the Ages'. For the first time she was just as nervous as Neville for a lesson, because flying was something she couldn't memorise out of a book. Neville was hanging on to every word she was saying, desperate for anything that might help him to hang onto his broomstick later, but everyone was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the post.

A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.  
"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh..." his face fell, because the Remembrall had turned scarlet, "... If you've forgotten something…"

Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco, who had come to meet Acquila, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.

Harry and Ron jumped to their feet, always ready to fight Malfoy.

"Give it back to him," Acquila said.

"Why should I?" Malfoy asked slyly.

"It belongs to him, Draco. Please give it to him. Is this what pure-bloods do? Snatching things which belong to others?" she smirked at him.

"I won't! You can't make me return it to him, with this pure-blood jibe, Acquila," he said and clutched the ball tightly in his hand and it immediately turned scarlet.

"Alright keep it," Acquila said, smiling at Malfoy and then turned to Neville and said, "I think he needs it more than you do, Neville. Let him keep it. It'll help with his memory."

Scowling, Draco quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table and sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle.

...

At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Acquila and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps into the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day; they marched down towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.

The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry and Aquila had heard the Weasley twins complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk.  
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Harry and Acquila stood next to each other. They glanced down at their brooms. The brooms were old and some twigs stuck out in odd angles.

"Stick out your wand arm over your broom and say, "UP!" Madam Hooch said to them.

"UP!" everyone shouted.

Harry's broom jumped into his hands at once. He looked at Acquila next to him, whose broom came up halfway and fell down again. She tried once more and this time it jumped into her hands too. Hermione's had simply rolled over on the ground and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Ron's broom danced all the way into his hands.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were glad when she told Malfoy that he'd been doing it wrong for years.

"But this is how my father taught me," he tried to argue but Madam Hooch shushed him and moved on to the next student.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle – three – two "

But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of bottle – twelve feet – twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp and slip sideways off the broom and -

WHAM – a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay, face down, on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift lazily towards the Forbidden Forest and out of sight.

Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. "Broken wrist," she muttered, "Come on, boy – Let's take you to the Hospital Wing."

She turned to the rest of the class and said, "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the Hospital Wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'."

Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.

No sooner were they out of earshot, than Malfoy burst into laughter.  
"Did you see his face, the great lump?" Malfoy said laughing even harder joined by the other Slytherins.

"Shut up, Draco," snapped Acquila.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy, "Never thought you'd like fat little cry babies, Black."

"Pansy! Don't you talk to Acquila in that manner!" Draco told her ad then darted forward, snatching something from out of the grass  
"Look! It's that Remembrall Longbottom's gran sent him."  
"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect – how about – up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled.

"Give it back, Draco," Acquila yelled after him, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an old oak, he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"

Harry grabbed his broom.  
"No!" Hermione and Acquila screamed together. "Madam Hooch told us not to move – you'll get us all in trouble." Hermione tried to explain.

"Don't go. You haven't ever ridden a broom before. Don't listen to Malfoy. Harry, please listen to me!" Acquila tried to make him understand, trying to grab hold of his hand.

Harry ignored both of them and snatched his hand away from Acquila's grasp. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up he soared, air rushed through his hair and his robes whipped out behind him – and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught – this was easy, this was wonderful. He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher and he heard screams and gasps of girls, Acquila screaming for him to come back down and an admiring whoop from Ron. On the ground, a worried Acquila was continuously screaming.

"Harry, come back down this instant! Both of you come back down before you fall of the brooms like Neville did! Draco! Harry!" Acquila had become red in the face from screaming. She was scared for Draco as well. No matter how infuriating the boy was, he was still her cousin and she did care for him.

On her right, Hermione was muttering something about breaking rules, disobeying a teacher and losing house points.  
And to Acquila's left, Ron was trying to calm her down, "Acquila! Acquila!" he said tapping her shoulder.

"What?" she screamed at him.

"I don't think they can hear you anymore. They are far too high," Ron explained.

"God!" She screamed pulling out her hair.

Harry turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in mid-air and the Blonde-haired boy seemed stunned at Harry's flying skills.  
"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"

"Oh, yeah?" said Draco, trying to sneer, but looking worried.

Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leant forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands and it shot towards Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about turn and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.  
"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy?" Harry called.

The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.  
"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back towards the ground.

Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leant forward and pointed his broom handle down – the next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball – wind whistled in his ears, mingled with screams of people watching – he stretched out his hand – a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched firmly in his fist.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Acquila's heart sank as she saw Professor McGonagall run towards them. Harry got to his feet trembling.

"Never – in all my time at Hogwarts…." Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "How dare you – might have broken your neck…"

"It wasn't his fault Professor…"

"Be quiet, Miss Black…"

"But Malfoy…"

"That's enough, Mr Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."

Acquila caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle's triumphant faces as Harry left, walking numbly with Professor McGonagall as she strode towards the castle.

"Look at what you did!" Acquila screamed at Malfoy. "Now, Harry will be expelled! All because of you! If something bad happens to Harry, I swear I will never ever talk to you again, Draco!" she said almost in tears.

"Don't say that, Acquila! It's a good thing he was taken away by McGonagall. Now you won't have to spend time with him. You are free to be in my company. You belong among us." He said pointing to the group of Slytherins surrounding him.

"Ugh! There is no point arguing with you, because nothing ever enters your thick skull. But if Harry is expelled or given punishment then I will talk to Professor Dumbledore about what really happened and each and every Gryffindor hear will vouch for that," Acquila said pointing her finger threateningly at him. All the Gryffindors nodded in agreement.

Just then, Madam Hooch returned and announced the lesson to be cancelled.

...

"You're joking," Ron said.

It was dinner time. Harry had just finished telling Acquila and Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Acquila looked positively happy and relieved that Harry hadn't been expelled.

"I'm so happy for you!" She said hugging him.

"Seeker?" Ron said, "but first years never – you must be the youngest house player in about …"

" – a century," said Harry, shoveling his pie into his mouth. "Wood told me."

Acquila beamed, while Ron was just sat and gaped at Harry.

"I start training next week."

"I can't wait to tell Draco! It will wipe the grin off his face," Acquila said, staring at the Slytherin table.

"Don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret," Harry said.

"Oh! It's alright. He'll find out eventually," Acquila said.

Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry and hurried over.

"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too – Beaters."

"I tell you, we are going to win that Quidditch Cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."

Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up- Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the muggles?"

Acquila was about to retort when Harry answered coolly, "You're a lot braver now you are back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you."

"I'd take you on any time on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a Wizard's duel before?"

"No Harry! Don't go for it! He's just trying to bait you," Acquila advised.

But before Harry could say anything Ron answered for him, "Of course he has heard of a Wizard's duel. I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.  
"Crabbe," he said, "Midnight, all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room, that's always unlocked. And Acquila, you don't come."

"Why shouldn't I?" Acquila asked, sensing something amiss.

"Umm... Because it's… it's a wizards duel. No witches allowed," he said smirking.

Harry nodded his head in agreement.

When Malfoy had gone, Acquila punched Harry on his arm.

"Ow!" Harry said, rubbing his arm, "What did you do that for?"

"You almost got expelled in the afternoon and you still want to fall for Draco's bait again! I am sure he is is just setting you up!" Acquila replied.

"Don't worry Acquila. He'll turn up and I'll beat him," he said with enthusiasm and turned to Ron. "What is a wizard's duel? And what do you mean you are my second?"

"Well, a second is there to take over if you die," Ron replied casually. Catching the look on Harry and Acquila's face he quickly put in, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy will do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you know enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."

"You should have declined it, Harry," Acquila said. "Don't go."

"I can't not go now. He'll think I'm a coward," Harry said and turned to Ron, "What if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"

"Throw it away and punch him in the nose," Ron suggested.

"Excuse me?"

Three of them looked up. It was Hermione.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.

Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.  
"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying …"

"Bet you could," Ron muttered.

"- and you mustn't go wandering around school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if your caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"See? I was trying to tell them the same thing," Acquila said, agreeing with Hermione.

"We are going anyway. And we won't get caught," Harry said and Ron grunted in agreement.

All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep. Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing. Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as 'if he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them'. There was a very good chance that they were going to be caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt that Acquila and Hermione were right and they shouldn't go, but on the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness – this was his big chance to beat Malfoy, face to face. He couldn't miss it.

"Half past eleven," Ron muttered at last. "We'd better go."

They pulled on their dressing gowns, picked up their wands and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the arm chairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from a chair nearest to them, "I can't believe you are going to do this, Harry."

It was Acquila, in a purple dressing gown.

"See, I knew it, don't do this guys." Hermione said, stepping beside Acquila, a frown on her face.

"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"

"I almost told your brother, Percy, the prefect," Hermione snapped. "But Acquila told me not to."

Harry didn't know what to say. He was in a dilemma. He wanted to go meet Malfoy but he also knew Acquila and Hermione were right. Acquila was giving Harry a piercing glare while Hermione and Ron bickered.

Finally Harry made up his mind. "Come on," he said to Ron and pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.

"Wait!" Acquila said. "I'm coming with you then."

"No, you can't. Witches aren't allowed." Harry argued.

"You don't seem to be following any rules anyway. I'm coming and that's final," Acquila said with conviction.

"You can't go!" Hermione said, now feeling helpless and following them through the portrait hole. "Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves? I don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."

"I have to go with them to ensure they don't do something stupid," Acquila tried to explain.

"Fine! Go! I'm not accompanying you all in this midnight stupidity," Hermione said and turned towards the portrait hole to get back inside, but the Fat Lady had gone on a night-time visit and she was locked outside the Gryffindor Tower.

"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.

"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."

"Stop being this rude to her, Ronald Weasely!" Acquila said, glaring at Ron.

"She's asking for it," Ron said, defending himself.

"I'm coming with you," Hermione said suddenly.

"No! Not you too!" said Ron getting highly irritated.

"Do you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you and you can back me up."

"You've got some nerve…" Said Ron loudly.

"Shut up, all of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something."

"Mrs. Norris?" Ron said, squinting through the darkness.

It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake when they crept nearer.  
"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours. I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."

"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'pig snout' but it won't help you now. The Fat Lady's gone off somewhere," Harry explained in a whisper.

"How is your arm?" Acquila asked.

"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute.

"Good – well, look, Neville, we've got to be going somewhere, we'll see you later…" Ron said.

"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet. "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Acquila, Hermione and Neville.

"If either of you get us caught. I'll never rest until I've learnt that Curse of Bogies Quirrell told us about and use it on you."

Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.

They flitted along corridors stripped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed towards the trophy room.

Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered wherever the moonlight caught them. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took of his wand just in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.

Then, a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak – and it wasn't Malfoy.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror struck, Harry waved madly at the others to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently towards the door away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped around the corner when they heard Filch entre the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere, probably hiding." They heard him mutter.

"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others, and petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run – he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armour.

The clanging and crashing was enough to wake the whole school.

"RUN!" Harry yelled and the five of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following. They swung around the doorpost and galloped down a corridor then another, Harry in the lead without any idea where they were or where they were going. They ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles away from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and sputtering.

"I – told – you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest.

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower as quickly as possible." Ron said.

"Malfoy tricked you," Acquila told Harry. "You realize that, don't you?"

"Yeah, he was never going to meet you. Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room," Hermione put in.

"Malfoy must have tipped him off," Acquila remarked.

Harry thought they were right, but he wasn't going to tell them that. "Let's go."

It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting through a classroom in front of them.

It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Peeves, please. You'll get us thrown out," Acquila tried to reason with the poltergeist.

Peeves cackled, "Wandering around at midnight, ickle firsties?" Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty"

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves , please," Hermione pleaded.

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," Ron snapped, getting impatient and taking a swipe at Peeves. This was a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR."

Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor, where they slammed into a door – and it was locked.

"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door. "We're done for! This is the end!"

They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could towards Peeves' shouts.

"Oh, Move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand and pointed it at the doorknob.

"Try 'Alohamora'," Acquila suggested.

"Yes, I was going to do just that," Hermione snapped and tapped the lock and whispered, 'Alohamora!'

The lock clicked and the door swung open – they piled through it, shut it quickly and pressed their ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Peeves? Quick, tell me," they heard Filch ask Peeves.

But Peeves wasn't giving any answers and started laughing. Filch was cursing in rage after Peeves swooshed away without giving any answers.

"He thinks the door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be OK – get off Neville!" for Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's dressing gown for the past minute.

"What?"

Harry turned around and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare – this was too much on top of everything that had happened so far.

They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.  
They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog which filled the whole space between the floor and the ceiling. It had three heads, three pairs of rolling mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction and three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellow fangs.

Getting over their shock after the dog who was surprised too after they had suddenly entered, growled and stared at them with six eyes as if they were his dinner, Harry groped for the doorknob. Between Filch and death he'd take Filch.

They fell backwards – Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else because they couldn't see them anywhere, but they hardly cared. All they wanted to do was put as much distance between them and the three headed dog. They didn't stop until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.

"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their dressing gowns hanging from their shoulders and their sweaty faces.

"Never mind that – pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling and throwing themselves into armchairs.

It was awhile before any of them said anything. Neville looked as if he'd never speak again.

"What do they think they are doing, keeping a dog liked that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally.

Hermione had got both her breath and temper back, "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with the heads."

"It was standing on a trapdoor," Acquila and Hermione said simultaneously.

"I saw it too. It's definitely guarding something," Acquila continued.

Hermione stood up glaring at Ron and Harry.  
"I hope you are pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed or worse expelled," Hermione said and left for the girls' dormitory.

Ron stared after her, open mouthed.

Harry and Acquila looked at each other, both of them thinking the exact same thing. The dog was guarding something and the safest place in the world if you wanted to hide anything, apart from Gringotts was Hogwarts. It looked as if they had discovered where the grubby little package of vault seven hundred and thirteen was.

...

_Acquila was walking through a forest. The trees grew close to each other, the sunlight barely reaching the forest floor. She followed the blurred outline of the short man. She knew who he was- the rat faced, blonde-haired wizard who had killed her mother. She ran after him angrily, wanting to avenge her mother's death; but he disappeared through the tightly-knit trees. She looked all around for him, but found him nowhere, when suddenly she heard the rustling of dry leaves. She turned around and walked towards the direction from which the sound emanated. And there, she saw a tall man waiting for her in the shadows, his long hair falling down till his shoulders. As she looked into his grey eyes, she realized who it was. "Dad?" she said hesitantly; anger, joy and fear flooding her mind simultaneously._

"Acquila?" the man called out to her.

"Acquila! Acquila! Wake up!"

She woke up with a start. "Hey, Hermione! What's the matter?" she groaned.

"Professor Dumbledore has called you to his office! Right now!" she heard the bushy-haired girl say.

"Huh?" Acquila thought she had misheard what Hermione said. Hermione shook her by her shoulders, "Wake up! Go to the headmaster's office right now! He wants to see you! Percy, the prefect told me to tell you."

"Now? This early in the morning?"

"Yes. Right now. Come on! Go!"

Acquila ran to the bathroom which she shared with Hermione, Lavender and Parvati. She hurriedly brushed her teeth, splashed water on her sleepy face and put on her robes; and then ran towards the headmaster's office.

As she reached the office, she tried to push the door; but then saw the gargoyles and remembered what she had read in Hogwarts- a History. She needed the password to the office for the Gargoyles to step aside to allow her entry. Suddenly she heard a voice from behind her.

"There you are, Ms. Black," said Professor McGonagall. "The password is 'Acid Pops'!"

The gargoyles moved to allow her to pass through.

"Thank you, Professor," she smiled at her Head of House; who gave her a tiny smile in return.

As the moving spiral staircase took her upwards, she wondered what had happened that the headmaster had wanted to meet her this urgently.

"Ah! There you are, Ms. Black. I apologise for the inconvenience I caused you by calling you here this early in the morning. But it is a pressing matter which couldn't wait."

Acquila inclined her head, feeling apprehensive and curious at the same time. She had developed a slight dislike of the headmaster's office. Whenever she had been called here, it was always for some grave news.

"Yes, Sir?" she asked as she noticed Dumbledore waiting for her to come out of her thoughts.

"You will receive a letter from the Department of Family Affairs of the Ministry of Magic in some time, Ms. Black," he said, his eyes morose.

"Family affairs? Ministry of Magic?"

She was confused.

"Yes. Your aunt Narcissa Malfoy has presented a petition to the department, asking for guardianship of you to be given to her and…"

"What?" Acquila interrupted him. "How can she? What right does she have? I want nothing to do with her! She doesn't care for me, I know she doesn't!"

"I know that too, Ms. Black. But as she legally does have a right to claim custody of you; as she is related to your closely by blood. As you know, your father and Mrs. Malfoy are first cousins; which in wizarding law gives her the right to claim guardianship."

"But I don't want to live with her! And Draco! She has no right to me! And her husband was rumoured to be a Death Eater. I am not going to live with them! Never!" she said angrily, her grey eyes burning with rage. She reminded Dumbledore of a young Sirius Black, never afraid to speak out his mind.

"I know you do not want to live with them. And I too, would prefer you being as far away from the Malfoys as you can. But as Narcissa has involved the law, we cannot legally stop her from wanting you as her ward. I am sorry, my child."

"But it's a question of my custody, my life! Do I have no say in it? I don't want them to take charge of me! I am fed up of people deciding the course of my life," she said as Dumbledore flinched. He knew it was a dig at him.

"Is there no way out of this, Sir?" she continued.

"Ms. Black, since your mother is no more and your father is a criminal on the run, you are as good as an orphan in the wizarding world. As per Wizarding law, the guardianship of an orphan is awarded to her God-parents or the eldest closest living relative."

"Who were my Godparen…" But Dumbledore cut her off, not wanting her to know of the camaraderie between the Potters and Sirius Black, which would inevitably lead to further questions from the bright girl.

"Since your God-parents and your mother's relatives are no more, your guardianship can legally be awarded to the two people who are your father's closest living relatives- Andromeda Tonks or Nacissa Malfoy."

"But, Professor! I don't even know either of them well. And how can they turn up after so many years and then claim that they want to be my guardians? Am I not the heiress of the Ancient and Noble House of Black? Can't I have a say in my life?"

"You are the heiress, child. But till you attain majority, till you turn seventeen years of age, nobody can stop Narcissa from applying for your guardianship. Won't you prefer living with Andromeda? She will readily petition for you to be her ward; and her being the elder sister, it is very much probable that she will win against Narcissa."

"But why so, Sir? Why is it that I have to choose between two people I do not know? I know Dora well, but I haven't even met her mother. How can I just opt for her? I don't want anyone squabbling over my guardianship. I spent ten years without a family in the orphanage. And I am ready to spend the next seven years likewise. I don't want anyone to take charge of my life."

"Look, Aquila. You cannot override the laws. I know how the Malfoys are. If Narcissa gets charge of you, I assure you you'll be in for a turbulent ride. As far as I know Mrs. Malfoy, all she is after, is the wealth and title which you will inherit after Sirius. She doesn't care for you. On the other hand, Andromeda really cares for your wellbeing. She even wanted to meet you. But I refused permission as I thought you could visit her in the Christmas holidays. I had foreseen Narcissa applying for your guardianship, which is why I had told Andromeda to file an application for the same. But Andromeda refused saying she would do so only if you wanted her to. She did not want to make decisions for you."

Acquila nodded. She realised that Andromeda Tonks did indeed care for her, unlike the Malfoys.

"Alright, Sir. Please tell Dora's mother to apply for my guardianship. But Sir, I would still prefer all this being avoided. I can take care of myself. I don't need anyone for that"

"We can't help it, my child. Now all we can do is, as the Muggles say, keep our fingers crossed for the outcome to turn out in our favour"

"Sir, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yes?"

"That day when the Dementors attacked us, I saw... I saw my mother dying."

Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly, he had not expected that considering that Acquila was hardly a fifteen-month old child when the incident had taken place.

She continued, "I saw a short, blonde man. He had a rat-like face; I couldn't see him clearly as he appeared a bit blurred. But I am sure he had rat-like features and watery eyes. I heard my mother saying something to him. It sounded like 'traitor'."

"Are you sure, Ms. Black?" he asked, suddenly seeming extremely alert.

"I am, Sir. The man's image was blurred, but I am certain he was as I described him. Do you know who he is, Sir?" she asked him, seeing the conflicting emotions in the Headmaster's eyes.

"I might know the person, Ms. Black. I will look further into the matter. Please try not to worry about it. I will do all I can to get to the bottom of the matter. Now go back to your dormitory, Ms. Black. You can still get an hour or so of sleep before you go down for breakfast."

"Thank you, Sir," she said and exited the office.

...

As the sandy haired wizard walked towards Dumbledore's office, he was thinking over what his werewolf senses had picked up at Hogsmeade. He had caught sense of a dog, a dog he was very well acquainted with. He knew Sirius had been at Hogsmeade just a few hours ago. But could he tell that to Dumbledore? Could he gather enough courage to tell him that he had betrayed his trust? Remus had become what he was in life thanks to Dumbledore. Albus had managed to get Remus into Hogwarts despite his affliction. How would he be able to tell the man to whom he owed his life that he had betrayed his trust? James, Sirius and Peter had turned Animagus only for Remus. And Remus had hidden this fact from the headmaster since his fifth year of school. He sighed deeply. He would have to gather all his Gryffindor courage and tell Dumbledore that Sirius was in his dog form at Hogsmeade.

As he gave the password to the gargoyle which guarded Dumbledore's office, he saw Acquila coming down the spiral staircase, deep in thought. She did not notice him till he stood right in front of her.

"Oh! Mr. Lupin! Hello! I'm sorry I did not notice you."

"It's alright, Acquila. How are you?"

"I'm fine," she replied, but Remus noticed that she didn't seem fine."Are you sure?"

She hesitated, but then smiled, "Yes. I am. What brings you to Hogwarts? I have never seen any adults here apart from the teachers."

"I am here to see Dumbledore," he said, his amber eyes looking at her affectionately.

She seemed to sense the emotions in his eyes.

"Mr. Lupin, do you know me? Why do I feel like I know you?"

His breath hitched in his throat. Was it possible that his cub still remembered her Uncle Moony? He had half a mind to envelope her in a warm hug and tell her how well he knew her and Athena. But then that would lead to far more questions about Sirius, which he did not want to answer. The poor child was already going through a lot, dealing with the press coverage and the other students who weren't all that friendly towards her. She did not need to know of her father's treachery to add to her problems.

"Mr. Lupin?" she asked him, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"No, Acquila. I did not know you till the day of the Dementor attack," he lied.

"Oh! See you later, Mr. Lupin. I have to rush now. I need to talk to a friend," she said, referring to Harry.

"Sure. And please call me Remus."

"Alright, Remus. See you," she smiled at him and walked towards the staircase.

He finally went up the spiral staircase leading up to the Headmaster's office, wondering why Acquila seemed so troubled.

"Ah! Remus! I was waiting for you. Did you come across Ms. Black as you entered?"

"Yes, I did. She seemed quite troubled by something. Is it something about Sirius?" he asked, wondering if the omniscient old wizard had got wind of Sirius' Animagus form and spotted him in Hogsmeade.

"No, Remus. Sirius is the least of our worries at present. A greater problem looms in the horizon for us."

"A greater problem?"

"Narcissa Maloy."

"Narcissa? What has she done? What does she want now?" he asked and then realisation hit him. "She wants guardianship of Acquila, doesn't she?"

"You are right. She applied to the Ministry for guardianship of Ms. Black yesterday. And unless someone else files an application for the same, it is very much possible that Acquila will end up being Mrs. Malfoy's ward."

Remus' amber eyes brightened with anger and then dimmed with worry.

"Now what do we do, Albus? We cannot let Acquila go to the Malfoys. You know how the family is, you know how Lucius is. I know they do not care for Acquila, they just want her because she is the Black Heiress."

"I know that, Remus."

"Now what, Albus? Why haven't you done something yet? Can't Mad-Eye apply for Acquila's guardianship? He is related to her through Athena, isn't he? We can have him file an application for her…"

"No. Wizarding laws state that the guardianship of a wizarding orphan goes to her God-parents, the closest living relatives, or a foster wizarding family in that order. Since Lily and James are no more, Narcissa and Andromeda are Acquila's closest relatives. Alastor is very distantly related to the McKinnons; and he is a bachelor who lives alone without a family. The Wizengamot will never choose him over Narcissa even if he puts in an application."

Remus cradled his head in his hands. Narcissa Malfoy. Athena had always disliked her. Even thinking of Acquila spending her holidays at Malfoy Manor with her, Lucius and their son Draco made Remus' insides squirm. He cursed himself mentally as he remembered the day he went to St. Mungo's when Acquila was born.

_"Hi, Remus!" said a tired Athena, "We were waiting for you to come."_

_ She handed a small baby swaddled in a blanket into his hands. Having held a new-born Harry just five days ago, Remus knew how to hold an infant. He supported Acquila's head as he looked into her curious eyes._

_"She looks just like Sirius, Athena. She is so sweet!" he told the proud mother as the baby stared into his amber eyes and gave him a tiny smile._

_"Where is Sirius?" he asked her._

_"Mad-Eye called him… Auror business. He said he will be back as soon as he can."_

_"Oh!"_

_"Remus, I want to ask you something."_

_"Hmmm?"_

_"Sirius and I want you to be Acquila's Godfather."_

_He looked up at Athena in shock. "Me? Why?"_

_"Because I trust you, Remus. I will not lie to you. Sirius was keener on James as her Godfather. But I want you. The person I trust the most after Sirius and Lily is you. I know you won't let anything happen to my daughter. I have known you since I was eleven. And I know that if something happens to Sirius and me, our daughter will be well-cared for. You will never let me down."_

_"Nothing is going to happen to you and Sirius. Don't even think of it. And I will always take care of Acquila; I value her and Harry more than my own life. But I have to refuse, Athena," he said with a pained expression on his face._

_"Why, Remus?" she asked him, hurt._

_"I would have loved the honour of being her Godfather, Athena. But I am a werewolf…"_

_"For Merlin's sake, Remus Lupin! Why do you keep bringing you being a werewolf into the picture?" she screamed at him. "I have known that you are a werewolf since we were kids. So has Sirius. And you know very well that we do not think less of you for something that you have no control over. Is you being a werewolf going to stop you from caring for Acquila?"_

_"It's not that, Athena!" he said, frustrated. "You know how prejudiced people are against werewolves. You think the Ministry will agree to Acquila staying with me if Merlin forbid something happens to Sirius and you? And how do you think I will care for her on full moon nights? You think I will ever be able to forgive myself if I hurt her when I transform?" he shuddered at the very thought of hurting the child. "Please understand what I am trying to say, Athena. I just want the best for this little girl. Sirius is right. James is the right choice for her Godfather, not me."_

_Athena sighed in frustration._

_"Okay, Remus. I respect your thoughts on this. We'll make James her Godfather," she gave him a small smile._

_"Thank you, Athena. But that won't make me love Acquila any less. I will always be there for her and Harry," he smiled at her in return, handing the baby who had now fallen asleep back into her mother's arms._

Remus came back to the present as he sensed Albus Dumbledore's blue eyes boring into him.

"This is entirely my fault, Albus," he groaned. "Athena wanted me to be Acquila's Godfather, but I refused. It's entirely my fault. "

"Oh Remus! Now isn't the time to dwell on the past. And don't blame yourself for what has happened. None of us had foreseen the events that took place, or James, Lily and Athena would have been alive today. We need to think of a solution for the matter at hand, not dwell on our regrets."

The werewolf nodded reluctantly.

"I am going to talk to Andromeda in a few hours. I met her at the Leaky Cauldron last week. I had told her to apply for guardianship, but she refused saying that she would do so only after getting to know Acquila well and only if Acquila agreed with it. She did not want to impose herself on the child. But now, that is the only option we have. I will tell her to file an application with the Department of Family Affairs tomorrow. So the case will directly be heard at the Wizengamot since the Heiress of an Ancient Pure-blood house is involved. And being the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I assure you that I will try my level best to ensure that Acquila's wardship goes to the Andromeda and not Narcissa. Everyone knows that the Malfoys have never been caring towards their children. And Andromeda has brought up her daughter very well. And being elder than Narcissa, Andromeda is more entitled to Acquila's guardianship than Narcissa is. The members of the Wizengamot will hopefully contemplate on all these points and pass the ruling in Andromeda's favour," the Headmaster's eyes twinkled.

"Alright. How has Acquila reacted to all this?"

"Ms. Black is a strong child, Remus. She has gone through a lot in the past few days, but I have seen her face every obstacle head-on. And with Harry by her side, I am sure she will be alright soon," he assured him.

Remus nodded, and then wondered about whether he should tell the Headmaster about Sirius.

"Is there anything you wish to tell me, my boy?" Dumbledore suddenly asked him.

Remus hesitated, urging himself to reveal all about the Marauders' animagus forms to his former Headmaster, but he couldn't bring himself to utter the words. He finally settled for a "No, Albus. Nothing."

"As you say, Remus. I will keep you informed of what happens. The hearing will probably be held in around two weeks. There is one more matter I wish to talk to you about."

"Yes?"

"That day when Acquila encountered the Dementors, she saw Athena's death."

Remus's face paled. He felt sorry for the girl; having to witness her mother's killing.

Dumbledore continued, "She told me that she saw a short, blonde-haired man with a rat-like face shoot a jet of green light towards Athena."

Remus' mouth fell open in shock. "But… but that… that sounds like a description of Wormy… Peter…" he stuttered. "How is that possible, Albus? How did she see that? Peter was killed by Sirius long before Athena died, isn't it? She left home after she got your letter telling her of Sirius' arrest. Peter was killed long before that… so… so how could Acquila see him?"

"That's what we have to ponder over, Remus. Acquila said that she couldn't see the man clearly. She saw a blurred vision of the man. But she was certain that he had blonde hair and rat-like features. I intend to show her a photograph of Mr. Pettigrew soon to confirm if he was indeed the man she saw."

Remus did not reply. He was thinking over Dumbledore's words. Acquila was probably mistaken. It could not have been Peter. Peter would never have been able to raise a wand to defend himself, let alone kill someone. He was too much of a coward for that. Something wasn't right.

"Albus! Somethin…"But Dumbledore interrupted him, "Remus, now we need to concentrate on Acquila's guardianship. The rest can wait. And after I show Acquila Peter's photograph, I will let you know what she says. Till such time, let us concentrate on the matter of her wardship."

Remus nodded and took leave of the Headmaster, still deep in thought over what Dumbledore had told him

...

Harry was running up the stairs, the three-headed dog in hot pursuit of him. He just wanted the staircase to end, so that he could look for a classroom on the third floor where he could barricade himself from the massive beast. But the staircase refused to end. And he kept running up the stairs as the creature kept getting closer and closer, when suddenly, he woke up with a start. Something was wrong somewhere. Why had he woken up suddenly? Was it due to the nightmare he had? And it was then that he realised what was wrong. It was Acquila. Something was wrong with her. She was distressed. And angry. He didn't know how he knew that, but he was certain that she was hurting. And he knew that she needed him.

He threw the covers off him and hastily changed out of his nightclothes; and then ran down the stairs leading to the boys' dormitory. Very few students were up and about owing to the early hour. He heard the Weasely twins calling out to him, but he ignored them and ran up the stairs of the girls' dormitory. As he had reached half way up the staircase, the stairs below his feet turned into a chute and he tumbled down it and fell onto the ground at the foot of the staircase. As his dramatic fall elicited laughter from the few Gryffindors who were around him, he belatedly remembered Acquila telling him that boys weren't allowed in the girls' dormitories.

"Ah! Mr. Harry Potter! You reminded me of your father, James," he heard a voice say. It was Nearly Headless Nick.

"My father?"

"Oh yes! The number of times I saw James Potter fall off the stairs as he attempted to meet Lily Evans! Ha Ha! Just like your father!" he said and glided through the wall before Harry could question him further.

Harry stood up, gingerly rubbing his neck which seemed to have been hurt during his fall.

"You're up early today, Harry," he heard a voice behind him say.

"Acquila!" he rushed towards her, the pain in his neck forgotten. "What's the matter? You're upset, aren't you?" he asked her, pulling her beside him on a couch near the fireplace.

"First tell me how you hurt your neck. It's aching isn't it?"

"Umm... Well, I tried to climb up the staircase leading to the girls' dormitory and fell down when it turned into a slide," he muttered sheepishly.

"Oh Harry!" Acquila giggled and he tried to change the topic, embarrassed. "Now tell me why you're upset," he demanded.

In the next few minutes, Acquila narrated all of the talk in Dumbledore's office to Harry.

"I hate Malfoy! How can his mother want charge of you! I'm sure he is behind this!" he fumed.

"Draco seems to be a spoilt and pampered child, but I'm sure even he isn't pampered so much so that his parents would apply for guardianship just because he wants them to," she said. "Don't worry, Harry. If all goes well, Dora's mother will get to be my guardian."

"I hope she does. I don't like Malfoy, Acquila. Especially the way he behaves around you... as if... as if he can dictate what you should do and shouldn't do. Stay away from him, Acquila. I don't like him."

"Draco is..."

"Why do you even call him by his name? Call him Malfoy!"Harry said indignantly.

"Oh Harry! _Draco_," she said pointedly, "is my cousin. That isn't going to change. He and Dora are the only family I know. And even I don't like how he tries to make me do things his way, and insult you and Hermione and even Ron; but he's still my cousin. And sometimes, I feel that deep down, he really does care for me..."

"I care for you more than he does," Harry pointed out.

Acquila giggled again. "You're so adorable when you're angry, Harry! Like a cute little child pouting for chocolate..."

"Hey!" he interrupted her, "I'm not cute! Nor am I adorable! Boys are never cute!"

Acquila punched him playfully, laughing simultaneously. "Alright, alright. Now do you want to get back to sleep or will you come with me to the Library?"

"Library?" Harry groaned. "You're sounding like Hermione! Ron told me she goes to the library whenever she has time to pass. I think sharing a dormitory with her is making her habits rub on you. Bad habits!" he stuck his tongue out.

"Harry. Visiting the library is a good thing. And I'm going there to see whether I can find out who the man who killed my mother was."

"Oh alright. Let's go," he said.

"You know, Harry? I always feel better after talking to you."

"I do too, Acquila. Remember I had told you that you'll remain my best friend even if I find other friends? You still are my best friend. My life is much better with you in it," he smiled at her.

"The feeling is mutual, Mr. Potter," she said playfully, clasping his hand as they walked out of the portrait hole.

Unbeknownst to them, two identical twins had overheard their entire conversation.

"Forge?"

"Yes, Gred?"

"Do you think..."

"We were too hasty..."

"In judging little Miss. Black?"

"Yes, my dear twin!"

"She doesn't seem to be the bad sort, does she?"

"Nah!" his twin winked.

...

**_NARCISSA MALFOY APPLIES FOR GUARDIANSHIP OF ACQUILA BLACK_**

_-Report by Senior reporter Brian Parnell_

_According to reliable sources in the Ministry of Magic, Narcissa Malfoy was seen in the Department of Family affairs yesterday morning. She was there to meet Maryann Clarke, head of the Department to apply for guardianship of Acquila Black, daughter of criminal Sirius Black who is on the run. Since she put step in Hogwarts on the 1st of September this year, Acquila Black has been continuously in the news- first for her reappearance after being declared dead ten years ago, then for the escape of her father from Azkaban._

_Her life is considered to be in danger after Black's escape from the high security prison. Hence, it is possible that the Ministry will want a quick solution for the issue of guardianship of the young Black Heiress. With Narcissa Malfoy having applied for the same, it is extremely probable that she will secure charge of Acquila Black, unless another blood relative files an appeal. With the closest relatives of Acquila being Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks, unless Mrs. Tonks files a petition for Tim guardianship of the girl, Mrs. Malfoy will almost definitely get charge of the eleven year old heiress._

Hermione Granger read the report in the Daily Prophet aloud to Neville. As she looked around for Acquila to inform her of what was written about her, she spotted the grey eyed-girl walking towards the Gryffindor table followed by Harry and Ron.

"Acquila! Look at this," she exclaimed, thrusting the newspaper into Acquila's hands.

"I don't want to read it, Hermione. I already have an idea about what's written in it. It's about Draco's mother wanting to be my guardian, isn't it?"

"Yes. It is. What as you going to do now?" Hermione asked her.

"She can do nothing except wait and watch. Can we not talk about it, Hermione?" Harry requested her.

Hermione nodded understandingly.

As they ate breakfast, a number of owls came flying into the great hall. An official looking owl flew towards Acquila and placing the letter in its beak onto the table before Acquila, it flew off. Acquila opened the letter, knowing what it contained.

_Miss Acquila Black,_

_Your paternal aunt, Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy has filed an application applying for your guardianship. Since she is a close blood relative, her application has been accepted by the department._

_We will inform you of the final result of the issue within two weeks._

_Maryann Clarke  
Head of the Department of Family Affairs,  
The Ministry of Magic_

Acquila passed on the letter to Harry. He had a look of outrage on his face after reading it.

"This is so unfair! They haven't even asked you for your opinion on the matter! Just said that they will inform you of the result! This is just not done!" he fumed.

"Harry, wizarding laws do not consider the wishes of the minor whose guardianship is under consideration. They just assume that the adults are better equipped to decide the course of a child's life..."

"But it's unjust!" said Hermione indignantly, "It's the question of your life! And you are eleven, not two years old! Why can't you have a say in this?"

"Mudbloods like you shouldn't be commenting on laws which have been formulated by wizards of ancient families and of pure blood. Stay out of the matter, bushy-hair," he sneered at the girl.

"How many times should we tell you, Malfoy? You aren't welcome here."

"Keep out of the matter, Scar-head. You may have saved the wizarding world, but you have no right to be on friendly terms with my cousin who is the heiress of a house whose members have had blood many times purer than yours is," he spat at Harry. As Ron opened his mouth to defend his friend, Draco continued, "Weasely, hasn't your blood traitor mother ever taught you that speaking when your mouth is full of food is unbecoming of a wizard?"

Ron turned red in the face, gulping down his food hastily so that he could give a fitting reply to the blonde-haired boy.

"Draco, leave!"

"But, Acquila..."

"Leave! You almost had us caught yesterday! We could have been expelled! I will never forgive you for that," she said to him, her grey eyes boring into his grey ones.

"What! Why would I get you expelled? Why did you go with Potter? I had told you not to go! Why don't you ever listen to me, Acquila?" he said to her, catching hold of her hand.

"Leave her hand, Malfoy!" said Harry.

"Argh! Why don't you keep your nose in your own business, Potter? Why do you always have to interrupt when I talk to my dear cousin?" he glared at Harry.

"Because your dear cousin does not need you to dictate what I do! We could been expelled or have landed in detention yesterday, thanks to your foolishness, Draco," Acquila said, pulling her hand out of his grasp. "We were saved thanks to Harry's quick thinking."

Draco's eyes glared fiercely at Harry."He may have saved you last night, Acquila. But he won't be there by your side for long. When my mother gets charge of you, you will be living with us at Malfoy Manor, and then you will have me standing by you always, helping you out of every difficulty. And you'll trust me and turn to me when you're in need, not Potter," he said to Acquila and walked away before she could reply.

"Just ignore him," said Hermione as Ron and Harry made to speak something.

"Hermione is right. Let's just ignore Draco. Oh! Look at this! Another letter for me," Acquila exclaimed as an owl landed in front of her. She opened the letter and read it.

_Dear Acquila,_

_I know you do not know me personally, but I have come to take a keen interest in your well being since Narcissa Malfoy has applied for your guardianship. I do not have a high opinion of the Malfoys and feel that they have an ulterior motive in claiming your wardship._

_I wish to talk to you to know your view regarding this matter. I will arrange with professor Dumbledore to meet you soon._

_Maryann Clarke_

Acquila reread the letter, wondering why the lady was writing to her. As Hermione called out to them to depart for their lessons, Acquila put the letter in her bag, deciding to talk to Harry about it later.

...

As he walked through the thinning clump of trees, he finally spotted the one place which he had first considered his home-Hogwarts. Even in his dog form, in which his vision was less clear that that as a man, the castle looked magnificent. As the lights of the candles within the Great Hall shimmered through the windows of the ancient castle under the dim rays of the moon, Sirius was reminded of the muggle book of fairytales which Lily had given to Athena for Acquila. The cover of the book had held a similar picture of a castle under the night sky. Sirius was half-way to transforming back to his human form to watch the castle better, when he felt an eerie chill in the air. He turned back to his dog form. He knew what the chill was, he had lived through it for ten long years. Dementors.

Dementors at Hogwarts. And if he wasn't wrong, they were stationed here to capture him. Sirius had always been a brave man, but he did have his moments of fear. And he felt a shiver down his canine spine as he saw the hooded creatures gliding around. He did not want to be captured; he did not want to lose his soul, not after coming this close to his kids. But as he visualised Harry and Acquila, or rather his imagination of how they must look like; he felt the fear gradually dissipate and get replaced by determination. He would get to his kids.

He would not be deterred by obstacles like the Dementors. He would meet Acquila and Harry and convince them of his innocence, and reclaim the two children who were the reason for his survival. He subconsciously got into what Athena used to call his Auror mode. He would need a plan to get to his daughter. He had to talk to her, tell her of his innocence, apologise for the hardships she faced. As he thought of possible ways to meet his child, his keen sense of hearing caught the noise of an animal walking towards him, possibly a cat. And then suddenly, he caught a whiff of a smell he would never forget- his daughter. His heart leapt with joy, his tail wagged of its own accord. Was his daughter somewhere around?

But as the feline walked towards him, he realised that he could smell Acquila on the cat. It was indubitably his daughter's smell. He remembered it well from when she was a child. It had changed a bit now, but he knew it was Acquila's scent. And the smell was emerging from the black cat which stood barely a few metres away from him, its shackles raised, green eyes glowing in the darkness of the night.

As the cat neared him, it at him with what looked like suspicion and distrust. And with each step it took, Sirius was sure it was his daughter's cat.

'Meow! Meow!' it almost growled at him, and Sirius somehow knew that the cat had realised that he wasn't a real dog.

'Bow!' he gave a friendly bark, trying to assure the feline that he meant it no harm. He walked into the forest and then stopped and turned his face behind to look at the cat, willing it to follow him. The cat gave a low growl and a look which said 'I am giving you just one chance' and followed him.

Sirius' mind whooped with joy, he would get through to his daughter through her cat; he would try to communicate with the green eyed cat and somehow contact his daughter. Sirius just wished he was in his human form, because if he was, the cat would have witnessed the first genuine smile which graced his face in a long time.

...

Two days later, at breakfast Acquila was nibbling at her toast still thinking of the custody letter she had got. Harry had tried every way possible to cheer her up, but it didn't help her improve her mood. She could not take her mind off of it. Ron suddenly took something out of his pocket and started blabbering something, but Acquila didn't really pay him any attention.

"Acquila! Are you listening?" Ron asked.

"What?"

"Look what your cat is doing to my poor Scabbers," he said pointing to the rat in his hands, which had become very skinny.

"Nyx hasn't done anything."

"She has. She keeps on glaring and snaring at Scabbers. One of these days she's going to eat him."

"She won't. Your rat is too disgusting"

Just then Nyx jumped up towards Scabbers from under the table. Ron was trying to put Scabbers back in his pocket, but Nyx had jumped onto his lap and was avoiding him from doing that.

"Get your cat off me!" Ron screamed.

Acquila pulled Nyx away and kept a tight grip on her.

"See, I told you!" Ron said indignantly, putting the rat on the table.

"Ronald!" Hermione screamed, "Get that disgusting rat off the breakfast table. People are eating here."

Ron made a face at her and picked up the rat and put it in his pocket.

Just then, the owls came in with the posts. An official looking owl, similar to the one which brought her the custody letter, landed in front of Acquila.

Acquila took the letter from it and it flew off.

_Miss Acquila Black,_

_Your paternal aunt, Mrs. Andromeda Tonks has filed an application applying for your guardianship. Since she is a close blood relative, her application has been accepted by the department. Since there are two applicants for your guardianship, and with you being the only heiress to an ancient oure-blood house, the matter falls outside the purview of the Department of Family Affairs. The matter of your case will now be handled by the Winzengamot. You will be contacted by the Wizengamot soon with details of the hearing of your case._

_Maryann Clarke  
Head of the Department of Family Affairs,  
The Ministry of Magic._

She had a smile on her face after reading the letter and handed it to Harry.

Harry read it and said, "I'm sure Mrs. Tonks will get your custody. Don't worry about it," he assured her

"I hope so," Acquila said, smiling slightly.

Suddenly, another owl landed in front of her and held out its talon for Acquila to untie the letter.

_Dear Acquila,_

_I had promised that I'll come and talk to you about your custody, but as Mrs. Andromeda Tonks too has filed an appeal for your custody, the matter is out of my hands. Your case will now be handled by the Wizengamot._  
_I wish you the best for the result of your custody._

_Maryann Clarke._

Acquila kept the letter in her pocket, wishing that things would go her way.

After breakfast she made her way to the Owlery to send a letter to Mrs. Smith. She wanted to tell the loving lady all about the custody appeal but she couldn't as it pertained to the magical community. She wished that Mrs. Smith could be there with her for this; she had always helped her with everything.

Acquila had grown up without a mother and Mrs. Smith had been the only motherly presence in her life. Acquila sighed, thoughts of the lady swirling through her mind.

...

The next day at breakfast was the same. Acquila was still lost in her thoughts. Each time she saw Draco in the hallways or in class she was reminded of the impending judgment of her custody. She could hardly eat her food. Harry kept urging her to eat but she tuned him out. Even though Mrs. Tonks too had applied for her custody, she couldn't help worry about the outcome of the hearing at the Ministry.  
Just as she was about to drink her juice, the owls came swooping in. An official owl came and landed in front of her.

"Argh!" she exclaimed in irritation. "I am fed up of these owls!"

She untied the letter and read it.

_Miss Acquila Black,_

_Your parental aunts, Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy and Mrs. Andromeda Tonks have filed appeals claiming your guardianship._

_ As there are more than one appellants, a hearing will be held in front of the Wizengamot to decide the outcome of your case._

_ The hearing will be held on the first of October, 1991 at 9:00am in Courtroom 5, Department of Mysteries, Ministry of Magic._  
_As the child whose guardianship is under consideration, you will not be allowed to attend the said hearing. It is to be held between the two appellants only. You will be informed of the decision made by the Wizengamot at the hearing through an official letter._

_Albus Dumbledore,  
Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot._

"Look, Harry," she said, showing the letter to him.

"There's going to be a hearing for my wardship and I'm not even allowed to attend it. It looks like they won't be considering my opinion."

"This is so unfair! I'm sure Dumbledore will do something about it. He is the Head of the Wizengamot!" Harry said.

Suddenly, a Hufflepuff girl came up to Acquila.

"Hi! I'm Susan Bones," she said to Acquila.

"Hey!" Acquila said, wondering what the girl wanted with her when most students tried their level-best to ignore Acquila.

"My aunt is Amelia Bones; she's the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she will surely give you a fair hearing," Susan said.

Acquila smiled at her.

"I know how it is to live a life without parents. My parents were killed by You-know-who's followers and my aunt has been taking care of me ever since. She will surely ensure that you get to live with the people who are best-suited to take care of you. Good luck!"

"Thank you! Your wishes mean a lot to me," she said, smiling at Susan.

Susan smiled at her in return and departed to the Hufflepuff table.

Suddenly, Hermione came running towards her, "You are in the papers again, Acquila."

"Ugh!" groaned Acquila, "Please don't read out the report to me! I have had enough of it!"

Hermione nodded understandingly and they departed for their classes.

...

He walked through the streets of Hogsmeade on his padded feet, foraging discreetly through the dustbins for old newspapers. He finally found one in the last bin that he looked through. After making sure that no one was around, he held the newspaper in his canine teeth and sprinted towards the hills. But suddenly, he stopped and started sniffing the ground. He knew the scent which he could smell on the dusty road. But what was the man doing here in Hogsmeade? Should he look for him? Convince him of his innocence? But a few seconds later, Sirius continued on his way to the cave in the hills. Talking to Remus could wait. He had to first gain access to Acquila and Harry.

He finally reached the cave where he dwelt and transformed back into his human form. He unfurled the newspaper, and a minute later, he let out a loud scream of rage and frustration, throwing down the Daily Prophet on the rocks below his feet. He glared at Narcissa's photograph which stared at him from the newspaper.

How could this happen? How could his sweet daughter end up staying with the Malfoys? He knew that Andromeda would contest Narcissa's appeal for guardianship, but he also knew the nature of the Malfoys as well as he knew the back of his hand. He could bet his life that Lucius Malfoy would have bribed and threatened the members of the Wizengamot to vote in Narcissa's favour.

He would never let his daughter stay with the Malfoys. Lucius Malfoy was part of the Death Eater group who had wiped off all of the McKinnons except Athena. He would never let Acquila stay in the house of the murderer of her mother's entire family.

He started pacing around the cave. The traitor Pettigrew could wait. Sirius knew Wormtail wouldn't hurt the kids right under Dumbledore's nose, especially when he had nothing to gain from it. So Peter could wait.

What Sirius needed to ensure now, that Acquila's guardianship would be awarded to Andromeda and not Narcissa. And he wouldn't be able to do anything without a wand.

A trip to meet the green-eyed cat would be needed. He turned back into Padfoot and walked towards Hogwarts, hoping the cat would be around.

...

Acquila left the Gryffindor tower, extremely apprehensive about what was going to happen at the hearing. Harry and Hermione, who had woken up to wish her luck, had assured her that they thought that the Wizengamot would definitely vote in favor of Andromeda Tonks.

She wanted to believe in what they had said, but somehow she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong. She reached the Headmaster's office and stood in front of the gargoyles.

They immediately leapt aside without demanding the password. She stepped onto the spiral staircase. She was just about to knock on the door of the office when she heard Dumbledore, "Come in Ms Black."

She entered and saw Dumbledore wearing a plum-coloured robe with the letter 'W' embroidered on it in silver.

"It's almost time for us to leave," Dumbledore said. "And don't worry Ms. Black. Have faith and all will go well."

She nodded her head.

"Ready to leave?" Dumbledore asked her.

"Yes," Acquila said, taking a deep breath.

"I assume you haven't travelled by floo powder before?"

"No."

"As I am the Chief Warlock, I am allowed to enter the Ministry through floo. Here," Dumbledore said, "take some of this floo powder and stand in the fireplace."

"In the fireplace?" Acquila said, thinking that Dumbledore was joking.

"Yes. Stand in the fireplace and throw the powder into the flames and say 'The Ministry of Magic'. You must speak clearly. Go on now. I'll come after you."

Acquila stepped onto the fireplace, staring at the powder suspiciously.

"I assure you it is safe. I myself have travelled many a times by the floo network. Just keep your elbows tucked in and eyes shut. Don't fidget or you might fall out the wrong fireplace and don't panic or get out too early and everything will be smooth," Dumbledore explained.  
Trying hard to bear all this in mind, Acquila took a deep breath and scattered the powder into the flames. The flames immediately turned emerald green and the fire felt like a warm breeze. She immediately said, "The Ministry of Magic", in a loud clear voice.

It felt as though she was being sucked down a giant plug hole. She seemed to be spinning very fast- the roaring in his ears was deafening. She tried to keep her eyes open but the whirl of green flames made her feel sick… still spinning and spinning; she wished it would stop soon, and then she fell onto a hard floor.

She picked herself up and brushed the soot off her robes and looked up, she was standing in the middle of a huge splendid hallway, with a highly polished, dark wood floor. The peacock blue ceiling was inlaid with gleaming golden symbols that kept moving and changing like some enormous heavenly notice-board. The walls on each side were paneled in shiny dark wood and had many gilded fireplaces set into them. Every few seconds a witch or a wizard would emerge from one of the fireplaces on the side from which she emerged and a small queue was forming on the other side, waiting to depart.

Dumbledore emerged from the fireplace just a minute after she had,

"Ah! How was your experience?" Dumbledore asked .

"Umm… I don't think I'll do it again."

"Don't worry you'll get used to it. At least, you reached the destination you wanted you. I wasn't as lucky, my first time." Dumbledore chuckled, his blue eyes twinkling.

They started walking down the hallway. Halfway down was a fountain. A group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of a circular pool. Tallest of them all was a noble looking wizard with his wand pointing at a centaur, a goblin and a house elf. The last three were looking adoringly up at the witch and the wizard. Glittering jets of water were flying from the end of their wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the goblin's hat and the house-elf's ears. Hundreds of witches and wizards wearing glum early morning looks were walking towards a set of golden gates.

They walked towards another gate which had a far less crowd of witches and wizards. As they passed the fountain Acquila saw silver Sickles and bronze Knuts glinting up at her from the bottom of the pool. A small smudged sign beside it read:

**_All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren will be given to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries._**

"Over here, Ms Black," said Dumbledore, and they stepped through the gate labeled 'Important Ministry Officials'. Seated at a desk to the left, beneath a sign saying 'Security', a badly-shaven wizard with peacock-coloured robes looked up as they approached. As soon as he saw Dumbledore, he got up to greet him.

"I am escorting a visitor," Dumbledore said, gesturing towards Acquila.

"Ah! Ms. Black. I read about the hearing in the papers. I hope it goes as you wish it too," the man said. "If you don't mind, I have to check your wand before you enter."

"Sure," said Acquila, giving him the wand.

He put it on to a strange brass instrument, which looked like a set of scales with only one dish. It began to vibrate. A narrow strip of parchment came speeding out of a slit in the base. The wizard tore this off and read it, "Ten and a half inches, made of ebony and containing dragon heartstring, been in use for about two months. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Acquila answered.

The wizard kept the slip and gave the wand back to her.

"Thank you," she said and followed Dumbledore through the crowd. Most of the witches and wizards stopped to greet Dumbledore, some waving at him, some nodding their heads in acknowledgement.

They went a bit further into a small hall, where at least twenty lifts stood behind wrought golden grilles.  
They were waiting in a line for the lift when a man with red, flaming hair came towards them. Acquila was sure he was a Weasley, the first thing that she had learnt when she came to Hogwarts was that most red-heads were Weasleys.

"Good Morning!" the man said to Dumbledore and Acquila.

"Ah! Arthur! How have you been? How is Molly?" Dumbledore asked.

"Fine, Albus. Everyone is fine. This must be Acquila Black," he said.

"Yes," Acquila answered.

"Ron wrote to us about you. I hope all goes well at the hearing."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley ," Acquila said, realising that he was Ron's dad.

They got into a lift with the rest of the crowd. Several witches and wizards were looking at her curiously, she looked back at them and they quickly looked away. The grilles slid shut and the lift descended slowly and a cool female voice announced the names offices at every level. Every time the doors of the lift opened, several paper aero-planes swooped in and out, they were pale violet and she could see the Ministry of Magic stamp on their wings.

Finally the female voice said, "Department of Mysteries." And they stepped out.

"We are in Courtroom 5," said Dumbledore. "Normally all the members of the Wizengamot are not required to be present at cases, but as this is a high profile case all the fifty members will be present. Don't get intimidated and answer with confidence if you are asked anything."

"Yes Professor," she said in a small voice.

As they neared the courtroom the butterflies in her stomach seemed to have turned into stampeding Hippogriffs, and she hoped that Harry would have been there with her for this.

Dumbledore turned the heavy door handle and stepped inside the courtroom.

It was a circular room with benches rising all around her.

Dumbledore told Acquila to sit on the first bench, right in front of where the entire Wizengamot was sitting. All of them were staring at her with curiosity and muttering amongst themselves.

To her far right she could see Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, both of them looking at the Wizengamot. Lucius Malfoy smirked at her in a manner reminiscent of Draco, while Narcissa just looked at her coolly.

Acquila turned to her left and she spotted who she thought must be Andromeda Tonks, with a man who must have been her husband. Andromeda gave her an encouraging smile, and she returned it.

After Dumbledore had taken his seat in the very middle of the front row as Chief Warlock, Fudge said, "Albus, Ms. Black is not allowed to attend the hearing. I will not allow it."

"Minister, as Chief Warlock I have requested her to be present for the hearing as it pertains to her future. Madam Bones too agrees with me," Dumbledore replied and turned towards the courtroom, ignoring Fudge's outraged sputtering.

"Let the proceedings begin."

"Hearing of the first of October, year nineteen hundred and ninety one, pertaining to the guardianship of Aquila Black, daughter of Sirius Black and Athena Black, formerly McKinnon. She is Heiress to the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Black and Gamp and Head of the House of McKinnon…"

"McKinnon? But Mad-Eye…" Fudge interrupted.

"As of yesterday morning, Alastor Moody restored the Title of Head of the House of McKinnon and the McKinnon family wealth to Acquila Black," Dumbledore told him.

The member who was speaking continued, "The appellants for the guardianship are- Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy and Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, both formerly Black. The Ministry Officials present – Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock; Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister…"

"Let us begin the proceedings with what you wish to say, Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy," Dumbledore, said looking at the Malfoys.

Narcissa Malfoy stood up gracefully in her seat. She straightened her robes and stared at the members of the Wizengamot confidently. She cleared her throat and started to speak, "I am Narcissa Malfoy, daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black and wife of Lucius Malfoy. Sirius Black is my first cousin, which makes Acquila Black my niece. Being one of the closest surviving blood relatives of Acquila Black, I am entitled to the guardianship of the girl. Being a Malfoy and formerly a Black, I am financially well-equipped to take utmost care of the girl and fulfill all her needs. I am a mother myself, and I am appalled at the girl's parentless situation and I will be more than happy to provide a motherly influence in her life. Malfoy Manor is one of the most secure places in wizarding Britain, and the girl's security will be taken care of well, especially if her father comes looking for her. I believe, I am most-suited to care for my dear niece."

She saw Lucius nodding at her with a satisfied look on his face and after nodding to the Chief Warlock, she sat down in her seat.

"Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, you may put forth your case," Dumbledore announced.

Andromeda stood up, looked at Acquila and gave her a smile. Acquila smiled back at her.

She then started to speak, "I am Andromeda Tonks, daughter of Cygnus and Druella Black, wife of Ted Tonks. Sirius Black is my first cousin. Acquila is my niece. As far as security of the child is concerned, my family and I have been target of Death Eaters and members of the Black family alike, for marrying a person of Muggle Heritage. And the fact that I, my husband and my daughter have survived for so many years is testimony to the fact that I am capable enough to take care of the child's security. I am well equipped financially too, to care for the girl's needs; but I also know that more than luxuries which can be bought by galleons, what the child needs is love and affection, which she has been deprived of since childhood. I myself am mother to a seventeen year old girl and I know how to care for a girl child. And after my wedding to Ted, my parents refused to acknowledge or keep in contact with me. So I know how it is to lead a life without parents. I can understand what Acquila is going through. And all I want for the child is what is good for her. So I believe that I am better equipped to take care of Acquila than Mrs. Malfoy. In addition to this, I am elder to Mrs. Malfoy. And as all of you present here know, Wizarding Law states that wardship of an orphaned child goes to the eldest surving relative, which in this case, is me..."

Acquila saw Narcissa stand up and interrupt Andromeda, "Even if you are elder to me, Aunt Walburga blasted you off the family tapestry. You were disowned after you married the Muggle-born. You stopped being a Black the day you married the Muggle-born and defied our parents…"

"Sister," Andromeda interrupted Narcissa and the latter glared at her, "If being present on the Family Tapestry is imperative for being considered a Black, then you ought not to consider Sirius a Black. He was burnt off the tapestry by Aunt Walburga, just like I was. So, if you do not consider me a Black by virtue of being burnt off the tapestry, you cannot say that Sirius is a Black. And that's not all; correct me if I am wrong, but Acquila doesn't even exist on the Black family tapestry. So you shouldn't be standing here wanting her guardianship," she smirked at her younger sister.

Acquila looked at the Minister and saw that he had turned pale and was staring at Lucius Malfoy with fear in his eyes. "Mrs. Tonks, do not interrupt Mrs. Malfoy. She is entitled to gain charge of Ms. Black and…"

"Minister, I think Madam Bones and I are present here to take charge of the matter if things get out of hand. Please let us do our duty. This is a matter of the Wizengamot. Although you are the Minister of Magic, you have no say in the proceedings of the Wizengamot," said Dumbledore and Fudge flushed red, staring at Acquila strangely.

Acquila saw the Minister looking at her and turned her attention back to Narcissa who said to Andromeda, "You aren't a Black! Sirius is still the Head of House of Black, even though he was burnt off the tapestry. He was disowned by Aunt Walburga, but as per Black Family rules, he still remains a Black and the Head of House. But as for you, you traitor! You betrayed our ideals, you disgraced the names…"

"That will be enough, Mrs. Malfoy. You ought to know that as per wizarding law; being burnt off the family tapestry does not stop a person from belonging to the family he or she was born in. Mrs. Tonks remains a Black irrespective of whether she exists on the family tapestry or not. The Black family blood still flows through her veins and she still remains the eldest surviving blood relative of Ms. Black," Dumbledore's authoritative voice boomed.

Narcissa remained standing. "Sirius would have wanted Acquila's charge to be given to me. I was always dear to him," she said, following Lucius' plan.

"You liar! You never even cared for Sirius, Narcissa! Everyone knows that! You hated the very sight of him! And he disliked you! The only person he was close to from the family was me and Uncle Alphard. He never cared for you! And the Sirius I knew would never have wanted his daughter in your clutches. You were never ever 'dear' to him, as you put it. He only cared for me, not you or Bella! I was his favourite cousin!" Andromeda shouted at her.

"All the more reason to prevent you from getting charge of Acquila, Mrs. Tonks," Narcissa said triumphantly to her.

"You were and probably still are his favourite cousin. What if you are in cahoots with him and hand over the poor girl to her criminal father who was in league with the Dark Lord as soon as she is handed over to you?" she smirked. Fudge beamed at Narcissa, while Lucius had a smug grin on his face. Acquila saw the toad-like witch smiling widely at the Minister of Magic.

...

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Neville was holding onto his Remebrall. After a few seconds it turned scarlet and Neville wondered what he'd forgotten. He looked all around his four poster bed and then his side table. He then realized that his wand was not on the side table where he usually kept it. And he couldn't even remember where he had kept it. He got up from his bed and started searching for it. He went through his whole trunk, side table and bed but couldn't find it anywhere.  
He then started looking all over the dormitory.

"What are you looking for?" Harry asked him, getting ready to leave for class.

"My wand! I can't find it." Neville said.

"Where do you generally keep it?"

"I keep it on the side table. But it's not there," Neville said, almost in tears.

"I'd seen Acquila's cat, Nyx on your side table," Ron put in. "She must have taken it."

"You blame Nyx for everything, Ron! What would a cat do with Neville's wand?" Harry glared at him.

"You are right. It can't be the cat," Ron said, going a bit red.

They searched the whole dormitory but couldn't find the wand anywhere. So, they decided to go to the common room to look. The three of them went down and saw Hermione sitting in an armchair and reading.

"I can't find my wand, Hermione," Neville said.

"Did you search for it in your dormitory?" Hermione asked.

"Of course we did! Do you think we are that stupid?" Ron said.

Hermione ignored him and started looking for it along with the others.

...

"How dare you accuse me of colluding with Sirius? He stopped being a cousin to me after what he did! And you are no one to speak of people who were in league with You-know-who! You don't even call him You-know-who! You call him the 'Dark Lord'. Does that not speak of where your loyalties lay? We need to look no further than your own husband…"

"How dare you, traitor! Don't you dare accuse my husband without proof!" screamed Narcissa at the same time as Fudge said, "This is preposterous! Mr. Malfoy has always contributed to the Ministry. He is a wizard of excellent…"

"Enough!" said Dumbledore, breaking up the imminent argument. "Enough! Please maintain decorum and stick to the matter at hand," and looked at Madam Bones.

"The Chief Warlock is right. This hearing is regarding the custody of Ms. Black and not people's loyalties or family tapestries," she said, looking pointedly at Narcissa and Fudge.

Narcissa nodded and continued, "Acquila is heiress to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. We Blacks have always prided ourselves on our ancient pure-blood traditions and values. Considering that Sirius is a criminal on the run, Acquila is the last of the Blacks, the only surviving Black. She is Heiress to not only the Black Title and fortune, but also to the Black traditions and values which have been with our family since centuries. She needs to be brought up with those very pure-blood values and traditions. And I am sure," she sneered, "Mrs. Tonks will never be able to provide her with that."

Andromeda looked directly into Narcissa's cold eyes, "I am a daughter of the House of Black. I have been brought up with the same traditions that you have been brought up with. And I feel, and I am sure that most people present here will agree; that all witches and wizards are equal irrespective of their blood and lineage. Do you deem otherwise, Mrs. Malfoy? You say that you are a doting mother. Then you should know that what Acquila needs is love and care and the affection that a family showers on their child; and not age-old traditions or exposure to dark magic."

Narcissa had nothing to say to that, she just glared at her sister. Andromeda continued, "I know the opinion of the child in question is not considered by the Wizengamot, but I feel that we need to ask Acquila what she wants. She is a girl of eleven, intelligent enough to hold her own views on her life."

"No!" said Fudge, "The girl shouldn't even have been present here! Her views cannot be taken into consideration," he said, knowing that if Acquila was asked for her opinion, she would probably choose Andromeda over Narcissa."But, Minister," said Dumbledore, "She is present here. It is a question of the life of the Heiress to the entire Black fortune. And as Mrs. Malfoy herself stated, she is the only Black in existence. And since Mrs. Malfoy values Black blood so much, doesn't she think Ms. Black to be capable enough to have a say in such a grave matter regarding her life?"

"Mr. Dumbledore!" said Narcissa, "She is just a child. She cannot distinguish between what is good or bad for her. The eminent members of the Wizengamot are wise enough to decide the child's life."

"No, Mrs. Malfoy," Acquila heard Madam Bones saying. "This case is one of the only ones in past ten years regarding the guardianship of a child. I know that the law says that the child isn't allowed to express his or her views, but Ms. Black is a grown-up girl, eleven years of age and quite capable of deeming whom she wants to live with. And as stated, she is the last of the Ancient house of Black, we need to consider what she feels as the case revolves around her and will decide the course of her life till she turns of age. Do you wish to say anything, Ms. Black?" Madam Bones Acquila.

Acquila stood up, looking at the members of the Wizengamot sitting in the front row in the eye.

"I am Acquila Black, daughter and heiress to the most Ancient and Noble House of Black. From the day my mother was killed and my father arrested, I have lived in a Muggle orphanage. I had no knowledge of the magical world, no family, and almost no friends. In the past ten years of my life, not one person from all of wizarding Britain turned up to ascertain my whereabouts or my wellbeing. I have learnt to live an independent life. I have a vault-full of galleons to fulfill my needs. For the school vacations, I have the orphanage to go back to. Mrs. Smith, a teacher at the orphanage has filled the void left by the death of my mother in my life. I am the heiress to my Noble House. And I deem myself capable enough to make my own decisions rather than having wizards and witches who had not even an inkling of my existence till two weeks ago making decisions for me. What gives you all the right to decide the next seven years of my life? If the Minister and Mrs. Malfoy had their way, they wouldn't even have let me be present here, let alone voice my opinion. I feel mean you no disrespect," Acquila said, looking at Fudge and Narcissa, "but I have no desire to let people who I feel have ulterior motives of their own regarding my guardianship, decide the course of my life for the next few years. I hope that you, the members of the Wizengamot pay heed to what I want, since it's my life which is under consideration. I do not wish for a guardian. I wish to lead my life independently, as I wish. But if this is not acceptable to you, I would like my aunt, Mrs. Andromeda Tonks to be my guardian. That is all that I wish to say."

The people present in the courtroom stared at Acquila with emotions ranging from anger to surprise to respect.

"I feel we have heard all that we have to on this matter. Mrs. Tonks, Mrs. Malfoy and Ms. Black have all put forth their case. Let the matter be put to vote," said Amelia Bones.

"Those in favour of Mrs. Malfoy, please raise their hands."

Acquila saw Fudge, the toad-like witch, and ten other members raise their hands. Dumbledore beamed at her. The decision would be in their favour.

"Those in favour of Mrs. Tonks..." Madam Bones stopped speaking midway through her sentence as the present people gaped and stared at a Patronus which had materialized out of thin air.

"Great Merlin! It's a grim!" screamed Fudge.

"Sirius?" Acquila heard Andromeda gasp.

Before anyone else could say something else, the Patronus which was in the form of a massive dog opened its jaw and spoke in a commanding voice,

_"I, Sirius Black, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black declare that the guardianship of my only child, Acquila Dorea Black be given to my cousin, Mrs. Andromeda Tonks. Being her father and the Head of the House of Black, I have the authority to decide my daughter's guardianship. She will stay with Andromeda._

And the dog vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared. The Wizengamot broke out in uproar, but Acquila was oblivious to it all.

"Dad?" was all she whispered as Dumbledore gave Andromeda a sad nod.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** An update a week after the last chapter! I intended to update much sooner, but I am writing this fic in collaboration with a friend. And she suddenly went off to South Africa for a fortnight. And since the only time I get to write is when I travel for work by train, this chapter took much longer to come than I thought it would. It isn't as long as the previous chapter. Somehow all the chapters seem to vary vastly in length... God! I am rambling now! Let's get on with the story! :)

**LilyEvans-Potter05**, **OneOfTheGuys411102**, **xxSunnyXBlackxx**, **Theta-McBride**, **Magicheart5355**, **Guest**- Thanks for the reviews! Hope you like this chapter too! :)

**Purplepenguin12**, **guest**- Acquila won't marry Draco! It does sound gross! And Acquila and Dumbledore will find a way out the wizengamot's decision! ;)

**NatsumeShin**- Thanks for your review! Made my day! Hope you find this chapter good too! :)

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Harry Potter, I wouldn't have to travel to work in crowded trains during extremely heavy rains! I would be rich enough to sit home without a job and travel by a high-end car. Needless to say, I own nothing of thr Harry Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing JKR :)

**Chapter 10: Winds of change**

"Please maintain decorum! This is a Wizengamot hearing!" Amelia Bones' booming voice shouted over all the frantic uproar which had broken out in Courtroom Five in the Ministry of Magic.

"Williamson!" Fudge called out loudly as the voices around him started to calm down; an Auror came running into the Courtroom. "Dispatch the Aurors immediately! Find out where Black sent the Patronus from! Locate his location right now!"

"But, Minister, it isn't possible to pin-point the location from where he sent the spell…"

"That is not my concern. Go and find him. Now!"

The Auror named Williamson nodded and scurried out of the room calling out to the other Aurors as he left.

Acquila should have been happy, her father had declared that she should stay with Andromeda, which meant that the Wizengamot would probably comply with his decision since he was the Head of the House of Black; but as she looked around in the room, her hopes sank in a trice.

She saw Lucius Malfoy smirking at her, a smug grin on his pale face. Narcissa was gazing at Andromeda, a triumphant look on her face, while Andromeda glared back at Narcissa with equal fervor.

But it was when Acquila looked at Dumbledore, that she knew that all was lost. The great, old Wizard looked at her with an apologetic look on his face, the twinkle in his eyes which was present just a few seconds ago, now totally extinguished.

"What proof do we have that the patronus belonged to Sirius Black? Albus? Andromeda?" asked Madam Bones.

Dumbledore sighed, knowing that he could not lie to the Wizengamot, and said, "The Patronus did indeed belong to Sirius. And the voice was his too. I can vouch for that."

Dumbledore looked apologetically at Acquila again.

"So now that we are certain that the Patronus did indeed belong to the murderer, we cannot give in to what Black demands," Fudge said in a smug voice. "He is an escaped criminal. And if he wants charge of the child to go to Mrs. Tonks, I am sure he has some ulterior motive behind it. Who knows, Mrs. Malfoy may have been right. Mrs. Tonks might be hand-in-hand with Siri…"

"Minister," Amelia Bones interrupted him, "Being the Minister of Magic, you should know better than to accuse someone without proof. We have absolutely no proof that Black is in contact with Mrs. Tonks. Have you been in touch with Black recently, Mrs. Tonks?"

Andromeda stood up, her eyes burning with rage.

"Sirius was as good as dead to me, the minute he killed all those people. I have not met him since ten years; since two days before he was taken away by the Aurors. And if anyone suggests otherwise, let them be warned that I will file a case of defamation amounting to hundreds of galleons for falsely accusing me of colluding with a murderer! And if I am given guardianship of Acquila, I swear to Merlin that Sirius Black will have to go over my dead body before he reaches the girl. He will never ever be able to harm my niece when she is under my care. I give my word," she said with utmost sincerity and Acquila could see that she meant every word that she had uttered.

And for the first time in her life, Acquila was glad that she had Andromeda Tonks as her aunt. She felt a strange warmth spread to her heart, and she realized that it was because she felt loved and protected. Of course, she knew that Dora loved her and even Draco did care for her in his own twisted way, but as she heard Andromeda speak, she felt that perhaps this was what it was like, to have a family. Just as Harry's parents had given their very lives to protect their child, she knew that Andromeda Tonks would do the same for her if she was ever in danger. And Andromeda had never even personally met Acquila, never even spoken to her. Despite that, Acquila could see the truth and sincerity in her speech. And as Acquila's grey eyes which were glimmering with unshed tears, looked into Andromeda's black ones, she smiled an assuring smile at the older lady.

And at that very moment, Acquila made up her mind; no matter what decision the Wizengamot made today, Acquila would live with Andromeda and not the Malfoys. Because that was where she belonged- with family and with an aunt who loved her enough to sacrifice her own life for her safety.

"No! I will not let this happen," Narcissa Malfoy stood up and said.

"My niece is the last of the Blacks; the only heiress to the Noble House of my fathers. We cannot compromise on her safety. Mrs. Tonks may talk of standing between Sirius and Acquila, but what if Sirius still manages to get through to Acquila? He managed to kill fourteen people with one curse; Mrs. Tonks definitely won't stand a chance against him. He _will_ harm Acquila. It will be the end of the House of Black. And Andromeda, "she spat out the name, "is not proficient enough in magic like my husband, Lucius is. Malfoy Manor is the most protected place in Britain after Gringotts, Hogwarts and Grimmauld Place. And why should we play into Sirius' hands and do what he desires? Are we going to listen to what a criminal, who murdered people in broad daylight, says? Or are we going to do what is good for the girl and her safety?"

"Mrs. Malfoy is right. As the Minister of Magic, the responsibility of the security and well-being of magical orphans lies with the Ministry. And I deem that Ms. Black will be much more secure with the Malfoys than the Tonks. As the Minister, I decree…" Fudge said pompously, he seemed to be trying his level-best to control his mouth from breaking into a wide grin, but Madam Bones interrupted him in a sharp voice.

"Minister Fudge, this is a Wizengamot hearing. We do not need to comply with your opinion on the case. The Wizengamot has gathered here to decide the outcome of Ms. Black's guardianship. You are not entitled to decree anything at all. Kindly let us do our work. Or you may walk out of the Courtroom."

"How dare you! I am the Minister of Magic! You cannot…"

"And I am the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I repeat, this is a Wizengamot Hearing. You may be the Minister, but you have no say in the proceedings or the result of the hearing. I am warning you for the last time. And I think that the chief Warlock will agree with me. If you wish to keep disturbing our proceedings by trying to misuse the powers that your post bestows upon you, I will be forced to make you leave this courtroom. I hope I have made myself clear to you," she told Fudge sternly, and he glared back at her; though without uttering a single word.

The toad-faced witch behind him, who Acquila thought was named Umbridge, gave a fake-sounding cough which resounded through the silent dungeon, "Hem, Hem…"

But before she could speak further, Dumbledore stopped her, "Ms. Dolores Umbridge, you are just the undersecretary to Minister Fudge. And when the Minister himself was not allowed to disrupt the proceedings, why do you think you will be allowed to do so? So before you speak, think twice of what you are about to say."

Umbridge glared at Dumbledore momentarily, but then gave an overtly sweet smile.

"So, is there anything you wish to say, Ms. Umbridge?"

"No, Chief Warlock," she simpered, but Acquila could see the anger beneath her tone.

"Before the arrival of the Patronus, the matter was put to vote, but following what has happened, I am bound by law to hold the vote again. Is there anything anyone wishes to say? Ms. Black?"

"I wish to stay with Aunt Andromeda. I know that she will let nothing happen to me," Acquila said and t hen sat down, as she saw Andromeda smile at her affectionately. This was the first time that Acquila had referred to her as her Aunt.

Acquila belatedly realised that she should have spoken more convincingly, but seeing her father's Patronus, hearing his voice had put her in a strange mood. She could think of nothing else except her his voice and his giant Dog.

"I wish to speak," said Narcissa. "I am sure that Sirius wants Acquila to go to the Tonks because he wants to hurt her. If Acquila's wardship is awarded to Mrs. Tonks and if something untoward happens to my niece, all you members of the Wizengamot can be assured that you will have to deal with me, and my husband," she added as Acquila saw some of the members of the Wizengamot look fearful.

Lucius smiled at Narcissa with what seemed like pride in his cold eyes. He had noted that many members hadn't voted for Narcissa when the first vote was held. His wife had chosen a good way to remind those members of the Wizengamot whom he had bribed and threatened, that the hearing was supposed to be in favour of the Malfoys.

Acquila's eyes blazed with anger. She had heard Ron talking of the Malfoys' riches and corrupt ways of ensuring that they got what they wanted. And seeing the conflicting emotions on the faces of some members, Acquila was somehow sure that Lucius Malfoy had manipulated the members to vote in his favour.

"So shall we put the matter to vote?" Amelia Bones asked, looking at Narcissa and Andromeda.

"I wish to say that I may not have the sway that the Malfoys hold over certain people present here, but I hope that the spirit of the Wizengamot is upheld and whatever decision is taken today is taken keeping Acquila's well-being and wishes in consideration. And if Merlin forbid, Acquila's wardship is awarded to the Malfoys, I am sure that Athena's soul will never rest in peace, knowing that her daughter will be spending the next six to seven years of her life with the family of a man who was rumoured to be part of the group who decimated the entire McKinnon family."

Narcissa and Fudge started refuting Andromeda's statement, but Acquila hardly heard them. Her mind went over and over what Andromeda had said. Lucius Malfoy was responsible for the killing of her mother's entire family? Why had no one ever told her this earlier? Why had Dumbledore hidden this fact from her? She stood up, without even realizing what she was doing and started walking towards Lucius Malfoy who seemed unperturbed by Andromeda's allegation.

"Ms. Black! Ms. Black! Sit down!"

"Acquila! Sit down!" She heard the pattering of footsteps on the stone floor and then felt gentle hands guide her towards the chair where she had sat earlier. But she continued glaring at the Malfoy patriarch; her eyes silently questioning him if what she heard was true. As Lucius continued staring at her, Acquila realized that he was indeed guilty; with no repentance of his deeds. She looked down the ground, trying to control her anger; but a moment later, she heard a loud shriek of fear.

Lucius Malfoy was covered in flames from his feet upwards. Narcissa and Fudge rushed towards him, pointing their wands at him and saying, 'Aguamenti.'

But the flames refused to subside and Lucius continued screaming. All the people present stood up; some of them rushing towards Lucius, and some of them shouting.

"Dumbledore! Do something!" said a voice from next to Acquila and she realized that it was Andromeda who had guided her back to her chair.

Dumbledore waved his wand in a complicated movement and Lucius was finally free of the flames.

"This is preposterous! The use of such Dark Magic! At a Wizengamot hearing!" Fudge sputtered as everyone settled down in their seats. They were all staring at Acquila with expressions ranging from anger to shock to what strangely seemed like awe and respect.

But Acquila seemed intent on staring at a spot on the wall behind the present people. A range of thought drifted through her mind. How had she done that? She hadn't meant to set Malfoy on fire. And from the reactions of the people around her, it seemed like it was quite a potent spell which she had accidentally cast on Lucius. Fudge's angry voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"I will not tolerate this! The girl cannot…"

"Before someone mentions any form of punishment for Acquila," said Dumbledore as he saw Umbridge and Fudge open their mouths to interrupt him, "I give you my word, that she has not done it intentionally. It was accidental magic. No child of eleven can perform this charm on their own. It was just Acquila's rage that channeled itself into trying to harm Mr. Malfoy. She is a young child, recently introduced to magic. And as her Headmaster, I assure you that she had no prior knowledge of that particular spell which led to Mr. Malfoy's robes catching fire. And after that display of accidental magic, I doubt the Malfoys will want charge of Acquila…"

"Oh no, Chief Warlock! This has no bearing on us wanting to be Acquila's guardians. It would be an honour to bring up such a powerful witch, and be rest assured that we will take utmost care of her, her security and magic," Lucius Malfoy smirked; his eyes blazed with anger, but he was also astounded at the extent of the power of Acquila's magic.

"My husband is right. And as for the accusations against him made by Mrs. Tonks, it is well known to the wizarding world that my husband was imperiused into committing the crimes which he did. And there is no proof of his presence at the McKinnon Mansion on that day. So, let this have no bearing on the outcome of the case," Narcissa put in. "I stand by what I say. Acquila will be safest from Sirius at our Manor. And we will take utmost care of her. Please do not give in to a criminal's wishes."

"I think that will be all. Now let the matter be put to vote. Those in favour of Narcissa Malfoy, please raise your hands."

Acquila counted the raised hands, they numbered to Twenty-Six. And she felt her breath hitching in her throat. They had lost. She would now have to live with the Malfoys.

She saw Fudge and Umbridge grinning widely; though she didn't look at the Malfoys. She did not want her rage creating any more problems for her.

"Those in favour of Andromeda Tonks, please raise your hands."

Twenty-Four people raised their hands.

"The guardianship of Acquila Dorea Black is awarded to Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy with a vote of 26-24," said Madam Bones in an almost pained voice. Acquila saw the lady look at her sorrowfully, and she realised that Susan Bones was right. Her aunt did want the best for Acquila and knew that her good lay with the Tonks.

As the members started dispersing, some of them discussing the case in hushed voices, Acquila was lost in her thoughts. She should have felt angry, disappointed, upset. But strangely, though she did feel those emotions, the unfairness of it all made her more determined to set things right. She was Acquila, the girl who had always told Harry to stand up against his bullying cousin. If there was one thing she had learnt from all the books she had read, it was that moping and brooding over things generally did no good. If she wanted things to go her way, she would have to stand up for herself; ensure that the Malfoys would never gain any kind of authority over her. She was Acquila. She was a Black. She had read a lot about her family, and though she disagreed with a lot of things that her family was infamous for, she did realise that Blacks had a certain standing in wizarding society. They were proud pure-bloods who ensured that things got done according to their will. And Acquila knew that if she wanted things to go her way, she would have to be a true Black. No matter what, she would not stay in Lucius Malfoy's manor.

As she kept thinking, she felt someone rubbing her shoulder gently, "Aquila? Acquila?"

"Yes?"

"Are you even listening to me? Acquila?"

She then realised that Andromeda was probably trying to catch her attention since quite some time.

"Oh! Yes, Aunt Andromeda," said Acquila finally.

"I am really sorry, Acquila. I tried my best..."

"No. Please don't apologise. I know you tried your best. I should apologise instead. When Professor Dumbledore told me that you would I apply for guardianship too, I really wasn't too keen on you having any kind of legal authority over me. But I was wrong. I can see that you really care for me, Aunt Andromeda. I want to live with you and Dora. And I will do my level-best to ensure that it happens."

"We cannot upturn the Wizengamot's decision, my child."

"There is always a first time. I am not going to live the next six years of my life under the roof of a man who murdered my mother's family. And come what may, I will find a way out of this. And when I do, I hope you will… family…" she faltered.

Andromeda pulled the girl into a tight hug. "Oh Acquila! No matter where you stay, you will always be family to me. We share the same blood. And Sirius stood by my side when my entire family turned its back on me. And though he did defect to the Dark side…," she stopped talking, and then took a deep breath. "You will always be a part of my family. And you are always welcome to our house. And I will look into what I can do to reverse the decision."

"Now we have to leave for Hogwarts, Andromeda," said Dumbledore.

"Alright," she said, finally letting go of Acquila. "We'll keep in touch through letters, dear. And I know you'll be the centre of attention in school, but do try to ignore what people say about you. I'm sure Nymphadora and Harry will take care of you. And if you ever need anything, I'm just an owl away. Take care, my child."

"I will," smiled Acquila as she followed Dumbledore out of the courtroom.

…

In the numerous years that Albus Dumbledore had spent teaching at Hogwarts, he had encountered all kinds of children. When faced with disappointment, he had seen several young witches and wizards break down into tears, lash out in anger or brood over their dashed hopes inwardly without shedding tears or venting their frustration. And after her guardianship was awarded to the Malfoys, the Chief Warlock had expected Acquila to fall into the third category.

But the young girl had proved him completely wrong. Instead of silent brooding, he saw the girl seem inexplicably confident and sure of herself. She seemed nothing like the nervous girl whom he had escorted into the courtroom at the start of the hearing. On the contrary, she stood erect, chin up, eyes blazing with a strange self-confidence. She seemed far older than her eleven years of age. He was astounded by the sudden change in the girl's demeanour. He had been observing the girl all through the hearing. He had seen the look on her face when the Patronus had entered-shock, longing, anger, fear and another emotion which he could not recognise. But after the decision went in favour of Narcissa, Acquila seemed like an altogether different person.

He decided to talk to the girl regarding the same after they reached Hogwarts, not wanting people to overhear their talk.

As Dumbledore walked with Acquila towards the exit of the courtroom, their path was impeded by two blonde-haired pure-bloods.

"Ah! My dear niece, I will see you at Malfoy Manor at Christmas. You will be accompanied by Draco. And you will spend the entire Christmas vacations with us at the Manor," Narcissa said to Acquila in a commanding voice.

"Now this is where you are wrong, Aunt Narcissa," retorted Acquila snidely. "If you think that I am going to go along with whatever you wish, you are sorely mistaken. You may have manipulated certain members of the Wizengamot to ensure that the hearing would be in your favour, but I am not going to be a puppet which will dance to your tunes. You have been appointed as my guardian, but I do not consider you as having any kind of authority over me. I will do as I wish. I will not spend my vacations at your Manor. I will either spend Christmas with Aunt Andromeda or at Hogwarts. And this is final," she said to the couple calmly, and though her voice did not betray her anger, her eyes which seemed more black than grey did.

Dumbledore stared at Acquila, astounded. She wasn't even talking like an eleven year old child. She seemed to have aged within a matter of minutes.

"You will not speak to us in this tone, girl. You are talking to a Malfoy. You are merely the daughter of two blood traitors. Mind your tongue when you address me or my wife," roared an enraged Lucius.

As Dumbledore made to intervene before the exchange of words spiralled further, he heard Acquila say in a strangely majestic voice, "I will talk to you as I wish. It happens so, that I have a great penchant for reading and knowledge. And in the fortnight before the hearing, I raided the Hogwarts library for books on the ancient pure-blood families and traditions. And I thus know that I am Heiress to the ancient pure-blood Houses of Black and Gamp, the origins of which date far further back in time that the House of Malfoy to which you belong. Irrespective of you considering my parents to be blood-traitors, you cannot deny the fact that my lineage and my blood is far purer than yours, Mr. Malfoy. So, the next time you think of raising your voice before me, do remember my ancestry. I thought that your extreme fixation with the purity of blood would have taught you how to address those whose blood is far superior to yours. But it seems I was wrong," she smiled mirthlessly as both Lucius and Narcissa stood speechless, gaping at Acquila with a mixture of astonishment and anger.

Acquila continued before they could retort, "And I assure both of you that by the time my school year ends, you will not be in charge of my guardianship. I will live with people who love me and care for me. I give you my word on this, as the daughter of the woman whose family you killed in cold blood, Mr. Malfoy. And if circumstances force my hand and I do visit your Manor, you can rest assured that I will make your regret the day you applied to be my guardian.."

And with that, Acquila walked away from the Malfoys, without a backward glance at their stunned faces; head held high, face bereft of emotion, a strange power exuding from her.

As Narcissa Malfoy saw the girl's retreating figure alongside the tall, aged headmaster, she inwardly realised, though she hated to admit it even to herself, that the confidence and poise shown by Acquila Black would indeed have made all her Black ancestors immensely proud to have produced such an Heiress to their most Noble House.

…

Dumbledore and Acquila walked towards the atrium, to use to floo network, only to be met by a barrage of flashing cameras and reporters.

"Ms. Black! What is your reaction on your guardianship being awarded to the Malfoys?"

"Ms. Black, do you agree with the Wizengamot's decision?"

"Will you be spending the vacations at Malfoy Manor?"

"Are you delighted to be placed in a pure-blood family?"

Acquila could hardly make out what the reporters were asking her as she could hear a multitude of voices questioning her simultaneously.

"Silence!" Dumbledore's loud voice boomed through the atrium. As Acquila made to answer their questions, wanting to make her thoughts clear to the wizarding world, she saw Dumbledore give her a nod, signalling her to remain silent.

"As Acquila is a minor, you cannot put her words in print unless you have the permission of her guardians." Inclining his head towards the Malfoy couple who had just entered the atrium, Dumbledore continued, "Though I am sure Mrs. Malfoy will have no qualms in letting her niece share her thoughts on her new guardians with the magical world," he smiled, his eyes twinkling almost mischievously.

"Mrs. Malfoy! Can we talk to Acquila?"

"Permit us to talk to the girl, Mrs. Malfoy!"

Though outwardly calm, Narcissa was in a fix. If she gave Acquila permission to talk to the press, she was sure the girl would spout off worse words than she did back in the courtroom, leading to a severe setback to the Malfoy image. And if she didn't, the reporters would have a field day rightly concluding that Acquila was unhappy with the Wizengamot's decision as the reason for Narcissa's denial of permission. Either way, Narcissa was doomed. She sensed her husband bristle angrily next to her; he had definitely reached the end of his tether.

"Do not let the brat talk to them," Lucius whispered angrily to his wife.

And Narcissa agreed with him. She would prefer the press debating over Acquila's unhappiness at being awarded to the Malfoys, than hearing the truth from Acquila herself.

"I cannot allow the child to talk to the press. She has had quite a harrowing time at the Hearing. Kindly let her proceed to Hogwarts."

"Why not, Mrs. Malfoy? Is the girl unhappy with you winning the appeal?"

"What exactly happened at the Hearing? Why hasn't Minister Fudge released the details to the press!"

"On what basis did you win the appeal, despite Mrs. Tonks being Acquila's oldest surviving close relative?"

Acquila could hear the reporters pelting question after question at Narcissa as she walked towards the floo network.

Before she turned around to step into the flames, she stared defiantly at the Malfoy couple who were glaring at her while trying to pass through the horde of reporters; and then departed to the fireplace in Dumbledore's office.

…

Dumbledore followed Acquila out of the fireplace as she brushed the soot off her robes.

"Please take a seat, Ms. Black," he motioned towards the chair opposite him, as he sat at his table.

As Acquila sat down, the Headmaster looked carefully at her. Never had he expected the girl to show such dignity and poise to speak to the Malfoys as she had done. It was probably an inborn trait of the Blacks. But now, most of the confidence she had shown at the Ministry seemed to have disappeared, though there was still a steely determination in her eyes.

"Do you really believe in superiority of a witch or wizard based on their blood?" he asked her.

"Oh no! I don't! But i couldn't just stand there, letting Narcissa Malfoy make decisions for me. And I did read a lot about my family. Blacks were practically Royalty in the wizarding world. And if I can use that to have my way, why not? I will not cower in fear and surrender to the whims and fancies of the Malfoys. I will stand up against what I feel is unfair to me," she said determinedly.

Dumbledore heaved an unnoticeable sigh of relief. So the girl wasn't like most Blacks. She was just using her family name and Title tp her advantage. She seemed a shrewd girl, and Albus wondered how she wasn't placed in Slytherin.

"Is there nothing I can do to reverse the Wizengamot's decision?" she interrupted his train of thoughts.

"I doubt there is anything we can do. Ms. Black, your case is probably the first of its kind. You are technically not an orphan, since your father is alive. You were declared dead for ten years. Your father has escaped from Azkaban. And you are probably the wealthiest witch in Britain, when your inheritances from the Black, Gamp and McKinnon families are combined. There hasn't been any precedent for such a case. By Law, the Ministry is supposed to place you with the Tonks, as your father has declared. But since he is one of the most high-profile criminals, and an escaped one at that; it makes the case even murkier. I will go through all the Wizarding Laws pertaining to your case, and I cannot promise you that I can find a solution for this; but I promise that I will try my best to find a way out it."

Instead of seeming assured, Acquila seemed to flare up.

"How do I even believe you, Professor? I had pleaded with you to hide nothing from me. How could you hide the fact of Lucius Malfoy having murdered my mother's family? Why is it that I have to find out such things from other people? How do I believe that you haven't hidden anything else from me? Didn't you think that me knowing about Malfoy was necessary considering that his wife was contesting to be my guardian? Why do you keep hiding things from me? Why do people keep making decisions for me? How can twenty-six people whom I have never even met decide whom I should stay with? Why do I have a say in nothing? And why is my father desperate to make my life worse than it already is? Why did he have to send the Patronus? Things were going fine… why am I a witch? I was better off at the orphanage…" She wasn't crying, but she was extremely agitated. And Dumbledore somehow knew that she would never shed tears in front of him. Her true emotions would only be displayed before one person- Harry.

He waited silently for Acquila to finish her rant. But deep within, he was enveloped by guilt. Should he tell the girl about Sirius having been the secret-keeper before she heard it from someone else? Should he tell her about his suspicions about Sirius's innocence? But what if his doubts proved wrong and Sirius was indeed guilty. He could not bear to give hopes to the child only to have them dashed. And she had already gone through so much in the span of just a month.

"Please, Professor. Please tell me if there is anything I ought to know," her eyes seemed desperate.

"There is nothing else for you to know, Acquila. I apologise for not telling you of Lucius, but I did not want to burden you with the truth…"

"I don't mind being burdened with the truth as long as I know what the truth is. I am strong enough to face whatever it is, Sir."

"There is nothing else you need to know," he lied.

"I want you to take some time for things to settle down. And please, Ms. Black. The next time do try to control your anger. I am certain that the Minister will contact me within a few days regarding the magic you displayed in the courtroom. I will talk to Minerva. You are a powerful witch. You need to learn how to control your magic. Minerva will contact you regarding this. Now let us end this discussion. You must be tired. You do not need to attend lessons today. You may rest in your dormitory. And I implore you not to perform any more magic today. Excessive use of magic can drain your energy, due to your young age."

Acquila sighed, nodding to the Headmaster. She did not believe him when he said there was nothing that she needed to know. He was surely hiding something from her.

"I will, Sir. And what about the person I saw when the Dementors attacked us? Did you find out who he was?"

"I will meet you soon regarding that, Ms. Black. But please put off thinking about it for the time being. Now, off you go. I will escort you to Gryffindor Tower, lest you encounter inquisitive students on the way."

And they both stepped towards the door of his office.

...

"Mr. Longbottom, this is the height of irresponsibility! Don't you know how important a wand is for a wizard? And is this not your father's wand? How can you be so careless? Twenty points from Gryffindor!"

Acquila heard Professor McGonagall shouting loudly at Neville as she exited the Headmaster's office.

"What's the matter, Minerva?"

"Oh! Headmaster! You're back! What about the hearing?" she exclaimed, noticing Acquila.

"We will talk about the hearing later, Minerva. Now, tell me what is going on here? Why has everyone gathered in this corridor?" he asked, looking at Harry, Ron, Hermione and a handful of other first-year students who had gathered around the Deputy Headmistress and Neville.

"Mr. Longbottom here misplaced his wand. Half of my Gryffindors were looking all around the castle for the wand, when I found it lying here on the floor. A Gryffindor! And this irresponsible when it comes to his wand! Ridiculous!" she exclaimed, glaring at Neville.

Neville said nothing; he just kept staring at his shoes, his face bright red with embarrassment.

"But, Professor! It isn't Neville's fault…"

"I know, Ms. Granger. I do not blame Mr. Longbottom for this. Now, may I have a look at the wand?" he asked Neville, his blue eyes strangely curious.

"Ye… yes… Headmaster…," said Neville, handing over his wand to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore intricately observed the wand, glancing at every inch of it, and then suddenly, he held the wand aloft and said, "Priori Incantetum!"

And a massive four-legged Patronus rose from the tip of the wand. The gathered students inadvertently took a few steps backwards and Acquila heard Lavender Brown scream in fear, "It's a Grim!"

As they heard the Grim speak, Harry went quietly to Acquila's side and put his hand on her shoulder; while Ron muttered a hushed, "Bloody Hell!"

"Mr. Longbottom," he said to Neville, who seemed to be shivering with fear, "May I keep your wand for some time? I will return it to you after I have satisfied a few questions which have arisen in my mind."

Neville nodded, and Dumbledore continued, "Minerva, kindly send the students to their respective classes; and escort Ms. Black and Mr. Potter to Gryffindor Tower," he said, sensing that Acquila and Harry seemed to be wanting to ask Dumbledore some questions.

They both nodded reluctantly and were ushered my McGonagall towards the staircases with the other students.

Dumbledore walked into his office, and sat down in an armchair which he transfigured with a small wave of his wand. He looked at the wand minutely again, followed by 'Priori Incantetum'.

All he saw was the Patronus and a few spells which were incorrectly cast, probably performed by Neville during classes.

And then Dumbledore's wise old brain started wondering. It was obvious that Sirius Black had sent the Patronus to the Ministry using this very wand; which led to a very important question- why was it that Sirius Black ensured that the wand landed back in the Castle after he cast his Patronus? Why did he not put the wand to better use? Why did he let go of the wand? Dumbledore knew that Sirius did not possess a wand. The wands of all Azkaban prisoners were taken from them on imprisonment and kept in a safe place at the Auror office. So Sirius did not have access to a wand, which led to him somehow stealing Neville's wand. But on finally getting his hands on a wand, why did he return the wand? Why not use it to get to Acquila and Harry. Sirius Black was a powerful wizard, and a trained Auror. But Dumbledore knew that he wasn't powerful enough to perform wandless magic of great magnitude. A wand would be extremely important to him for whatever he planned to do in his quest to get to Acquila and Harry. So why did he not keep the wand? And why did he want Acquila's guardianship to rest with Andromeda? If Sirius was indeed a traitor to the Order and the right hand man of Voldemort, wouldn't he have wanted Acquila to go to the Malfoys- the Malfoys who would indubitably try their best to indoctrinate Acquila with their pure-blood ideals and pro-Voldemort loyalties.

And then there was the matter of Acquila seeing her mother killed by a man whose description matched that of Peter Pettigrew. There was a lot more to the matter than what met the eye.

He needed to have a talk with Remus Lupin soon.

...

"Bloody Hell! Your father sent a Patronus! And you said that to Draco's parents? How I wish I was there to see their stunned faces" chuckled Harry after Acquila had narrated what happened at the hearing.

"Oh Harry! A few hours I'm out of school and Ron starts rubbing on you? Bloody Hell? You sound just like him," she smiled.

"Are you unwell?" he asked her. "You are smiling and joking and…"

"Harry," she interrupted him. "I can't keep sulking over it, can I? I might as well smile."

He nodded and then blurted out angrily, "I hate your father."

There was a strange expression on Acquila's face. "I should hate him too, Harry. But somehow, I don't."

"You don't? Despite what he did today?"

"I doubt he meant for it to happen. I heard his voice when he spoke. I… I felt like he cared for me…," she sighed. "Or maybe it was just my imagination. I am fed up, Harry. I never wanted so many complications. I was so happy when I got the Hogwarts letter… knowing that I was a witch, I could do magic. But somehow, since I have come to Hogwarts, things just get more and more complicated… why me, Harry? Why me? Most students hate me. They glare at me for what my family was… and I cant even decide for myself. Dumbledore keeps things hidden from me… and if I can't find a way to reverse the Wizengamot's decision, I will have to live under the roof of the man who killed my family… and my father…" she faltered. And then suddenly, Harry saw tears dripping out of her eyes.

"Acquila!" he exclaimed and pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't cry! I won't let you live with the Malfoys. I'll look through every book in the library if needed, but I will find a way out of this. You won't live with Draco and his father. And as for your father, I will never let him harm you. I hate him for making you cry. He's the reason for all this mess…" he caressed her long tresses soothingly, trying to cocoons her.

If there was one thing Harry couldn't stand, it was the sight of Acquila in tears. She was the only person who had stood by him when he felt upset about the Dursleys' behavior towards him; the only person who truly loved him. And he would make Sirius Black and Lucius Malfoy pay for each tear that Acquila shed.

After she had calmed down, she wiped off her tears.

"I'm sorry. Lately, all I seem to do is cry and…"

"No! You don't need to be sorry. Had I not promised you that I will stand by you always? Is that not what friends are for?" he smiled at her.

"You're the best friend one could ever have, Harry."

"No, I am not. That honour goes to you, not me," he grinned at her as she punched him playfully.

"Where are the other students? I thought they would gather all around us, wanting to know… Oh my! Shouldn't you be at classes?"

"Oh Acquila! Even at times like these, you think of classes? Nerd!" he stuck his tongue out at her and continued, "McGonagall gave me the day off classes. She said I could be with you all day. She knows what a good friend I am," he smiled smugly.

"How modest of you! Now do we go to the library?"

"Ugh! Seriously? We get a day off classes and you want to go to the Library?" he groaned as Acquila mock-glared at him.

He continued "Let's go to the Quidditch pitch instead. All the students are at classes. Nobody will stare at you there.I can explain the game to you. It will be fun. And Oliver Wood explained all the rules to me. I even read 'Quidditch through the Ages'. Oh, come one," he grabbed her hand smiling, and pulled her towards the portrait hole.

She followed him happily; glad to have Harry with her. He seemed to be the only constant in her life. And somehow deep within, she knew that as long as Harry was by her side, she could face every obstacle that life threw at her with a smile on her face.

...

In the evening, Albus Dumbledore was engrossed in poring over an immense book, the spine of which would easily have measured over twelve inches. As the door to his office opened, and a tired-looking wizard stepped in, Dumbledore shut the book and with a flick of his wand, the book flew up into the air and wedged itself firmly between two books on a book-shelf which stood by the wall. With another flick, the book-shelf itself started moving on its own into the room adjacent to the office, where Remus assumed the Headmaster's private study was situated.

"Sit down, my boy. I was just going through the book of wizarding laws."

Remus seemed astonished.

"Since when do you need to turn to books for information, Albus? I always thought you were the omniscient wizard, who knew everything there was to know about magic," he said with a wry smile on his prematurely lined face.

"I admit I am more knowledgeable than most witches and wizards currently in existence, but calling me omniscient would be quite far-fetched," Dumbledore chuckled. "And I _do_ know quite a lot about magic, but wizarding law has never quite interested me when compared to other magical fields. In addition to that, I have never had to deal with matters pertaining to the guardianship of the only Heiress to one of the oldest of magical families."

Remus sighed deeply and sat down opposite Dumbledore.

"So I assume that Narcissa won the appeal."

"Unfortunately, she did."

Remus Lupin just kept silent, staring at Dumbledore's wrinkled face. After a few minutes of waiting expectantly, Dumbledore said, "Aren't you angry, Remus? I was expecting an explosion of rage, against the Malfoys and frankly, against me as well."

"If I hadn't been as tired as I am now, thanks to the full-moon last night, I would have been venting my anger, Albus. But I am too weary to do so," Remus replied.

Dumbledore nodded.

"So, what happened, Albus? I thought Andromeda had quite a few points in her favour. How did Narcissa win the appeal?"

"Andromeda had almost won. But then, Sirius' Patronus arrived and the tide turned, and I assume Malfoy put his money and threats to use to manipulate…"

"Sirius' Patronus?" interrupted a stunned Remus, confirming whether he had heard the Headmaster correctly.

"Yes. A Patronus in the form of a Grim."

"Great Merlin!" he exclaimed, his amber eyes shining.

"He got hold of a student's wand? And then he actually returned the wand?" gasped Remus after Dumbledore narrated the entire event to him. "But why did he do that? And why would he want Acquila to go to Andromeda? Unless he knew that the Wizengamot members would change their mind after hearing his Patronus..."

"Remus, there is no way Sirius would have known that. And it was quite a close contest. Narcissa won the appeal by just two votes."

"Did he sound insane? Azkaban..." Remus mumbled rather than asked.

"No. He sounded sane. And I am sure he is perfectly well mentally, since stealing a wand from Hogwarts, sending the Patronus and then returning the wand would take quite a good amount of sanity."

"Why would he return the wand then? And how on earth did he steal the wand? It means that he entered Hogwarts, doesn't it? Or how would he get the wand?" asked Remus, thinking of the seven secret passages which led into Hogwarts."

"That is what has got me thinking, Remus. Why would he return the wand? Why would he enter Hogwarts and make no effort to meet Harry and Acquila? Why wouldn't he harm them?"

Remus said nothing; his brow furrowed in thought. He had an idea about how Sirius would have entered Hogwarts- in his dog form, through one of the secret passages, possibly the one leading to Hogsmeade. And the Marauders' Map which probably lay with Filch, would be an immensely helpful tool to trace Sirius if he was indeed in the castle.

But how could he tell the Headmaster of how he betrayed his trust by letting his friends become illegal animagii. How could he tell Albus that he kept the fact of Sirius' dog form hidden despite Sirius having escaped prison?

"A galleon for your thoughts, Remus?" he heard the headmaster say.

"I... I was just thinking of Acquila. What brought about the sudden change in her? I'm glad she isn't brooding over the hearing, but she seems just... just like a Black. Your description of how she spoke to the Malfoys… I could imagine Regulus or Orion say something like that... Blood purity, Black ancestry..."

"Don't you worry about it. I did speak to Acquila about it. She said wanted to show the Malfoys that wasn't going to go along with their demands. She won't turn into a typical Black with notions of superiority of blood. Don't worry."

"Okay," said Remus, glad that the focus had shifted away from Sirius.

"Now let me get to the important issue. I want you to look for Sirius."

He continued as Remus paled, "I have a hunch that he is around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. And do not harm him. Just send me a Patronus and I'll be there."

"Don't harm him? You think he's innocent?" gasped Remus. "It isn't possible. Acquila must be mistaken. Peter was dead when Athena died. And we all knew Sirius was the secret-keeper!" he exclaimed indignantly. He couldn't believe that Peter could have betrayed them. Sirius belonged to a dark family, though disowned. He had everything to gain from the Dark side. But Peter? Why would Peter defect to the Dark side? What would he gain by that?"

"Sometimes, the truth is the exact opposite of what is presented to us as the truth. Everything that has happened is making me believe that Sirius isn't what we thought he was. He wasn't even given a trial, Remus! Nobody even bothered to listen to his side of the story! Something is amiss, especially regarding Peter. Have you ever thought about how his body was never discovered? All they found of him was a finger. It's possible that he faked his death and then killed Athena. I will give Acquila some time to deal with today's events. And then I will show her Pettigrew's photograph. But till then, I need you to locate Sirius. You enhanced senses will aid you. And I trust nobody else with this task, Remus. Nobody would even consider that Sirius might be innocent. I would have told Alastor, but he is busy with training the new batch of Aurors. And you know how paranoid he gets. Though he was Sirius' mentor, he won't agree with my thoughts regarding his possible innocence. I would have searched for him myself, but I have two important matters to deal with. One matter deals with the Flamels and the other is regarding Fudge. After news of Sirius' Patronus leaked out, the Minister has started fearing for his post. Despite the row I had with him over the Dementors after the attack on Harry and Acquila, he is insisting on deploying them within the castle in case Sirius comes here. So I need to concentrate on those matters. And I believe you will find Sirius. You're the only man I trust for the job. So, will you do it?"

"Yes. I will," replied Remus after a moment, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I will find Sirius. I will start right now."

"Thank you, Remus. And I will keep you informed of any further developments," replied Dumbledore as a pensive Remus stood up and walked towards the door.

...

The wizard apparated at his door-step, and his little son came running into his arms.

"Daddy! You're back from work!"

"Yes, sweetheart. I'm back. And how did your day go? Were you a good boy for mommy today?"

The black dog stood in the bushes behind the cottage in Hogsmeade, listening to the boy chattering about his day to his dad. He then heard the wizard's wife come in, greeting her husband and getting ready to set the table for dinner.

The dog waited patiently for another half an hour, knowing that the wizard would soon put on the radio to listen to the news.

He had come across the cottage when he was foraging about Hogsmeade one evening for food. A few regular visits to the bushes behind the cottage later, he knew that the wizard living there put on the radio every evening after he returned home from work.

He waited, his patience dwindling with each passing moment; hearing the wizard and his pregnant wife talk of the little child which would grace their house in a four months and the furniture for the nursery. And then finally, the wizard put on the radio.

Sirius expected to have to wait longer, the news about the hearing would probably come after the news on the Chudley Cannons and Puddlemere United match, but he was wrong. His ears perked up on hearing the news anchor start the news with Acquila.

_"The hearing for the guardianship of Acquila Black took place today morning in the presence of the entire Wizengamot. In what turned out to be an extremely dramatic hearing, the wardship of the Black Heiress was awarded to Narcissa Malfoy, wife of Lucius Malfoy."_

Sirius let out an inadvertent howl of grief, before getting a semblance of control over himself. He could not let himself be discovered by the family.

_" Sources wishing to remain unnamed confirm that a Sirius Black's Patronus made an appearance in the courtroom._

_Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge sent out a short statement saying 'The hearing for the guardianship of Acquila Black was held today. After an hour of deliberation, the Wizengamot voted for the guardianship to be awarded to Mrs. questioned further about the hearing and the Patronus, the Minister refused to comment._

_Surprisingly, Acquila Black was present for the hearing, though there has been no precedent till date for the child in question being present at the hearing. As the Black Heiress walked towards the Atrium with Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore, reporters asked Narcissa Malfoy for permission to talk to the girl. But Mrs. Malfoy refused outright, which has lead to speculation that Ms. Black is not too happy with the decision of the Wizengamot._

_Sources who were present at the hearing, who wish to remain anonymous, have informed us that Acquila Black was indeed present throughout the hearing. She was even allowed to place her views before the Wizengamot wherein she clearly started that she would like to be place with Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, the other appellant._

_The vote which was held after that had almost gone in favour of Mrs. Tonks, but the arrival of a Black's Patronus brought a complete turnaround in the proceedings and the second vote went in favour of Mrs. Malfoy._

_An top-ranked ministry official has confirmed that the Patronus did indeed belong to Sirius Black and Aurors have been dispatched to pinpoint his location and have him given the kiss._

_That leads to further questions about Black. Where did he get his hands on a wand from? Doesn't that put the safety of magical Britain in even greater danger? With Minister Fudge refusing to even confirm the arrival of Black's Patronus, it seems that the Ministry is trying to keep the magical population in the dark about the danger it faces for an armed Sirius Black..."_

The dog wanted to hear no more. Sirius bounded off through the bushes, wanting to howl and cry. This wasn't what he wanted. He had sent the Patronus to use his powers as the Head of House and Acquila's father to have her awarded to Andromeda. But it all backfired. Narcissa and Lucius... guardians of his daughter. And it was all due to him alone. And his dumb plan of sending the Patronus. He should have trusted Andromeda to be capable enough of winning the appeal. But he didn't. And now his daughter would live her life with a Death-Eater family. He finally reached the cave and transformed back into a man. And the scream of frustration and anger that he let out was loud enough to reverberate through the streets in Hogsmeade.

He pulled at his long hair, hating himself for what he had done. His daughter would never forgive him for this; nor would Athena. Athena had always warned him about his recklessness. And for the second time in his life, his reckless nature had led to his loss. He should have thought over it before sending the bloody Patronus.

He screamed again, wanting to bang his head against the rocky walls of the cave. He would go insane if he stayed here. He had to leave. Had to turn back into a dog and run. Run till he could get over the self-detesting thoughts that were invading his mind. Run till he found a solution to reverse the Wizengamot decision. Run till he thought of a way to get back his daughter.

The next moment, a massive dog ran out of the cave, his padded feet racing through the dark evening as though they would never stop; his howls permeating through the silence.

...

Author's Note: Please do tell me how you felt of this chapter. I am really apprehensive about how it will be recieved since my friend isn't here to read through it. Next chapter should be up soon. :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: **16 years since the first HP book released! Can't thank JKR enough for giving us all Harry and his magical world!

Another long chapter. I wanted to add the first Quidditch match too, but that's for the next chapter. My friend who writes this fic with me should return in a couple of days. So the chapter 12 should be better than this one.

**Merida- **Thanks!

**Potterhead999- **Thanks for your review! She will go with Harry in the end! Hopefully ;-)

**Magicheart5355**, **xxSunnyXBlackxx**- Things will get better with Acquila and Sirius this chapter onwards :-)

**Theta-McBride**- I hate me too, for making Acquila end up with the Malfoys! But things will improve :-)

**crazy1person2you3been4warned**,** OneOfTheGuys411102-** Thanks a lot for reviewing! :-D

**Purplepenguin12**- Your review made my day! And all that you mentioned will happen soon! :-D

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. I own nothing except for the original characters. Recognisable parts of this chapter are taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

**Chapter 11: October Blues**

After exiting Dumbledore's office, Remus Lupin walked towards the boundaries of Hogwarts, deep in thought. Could Dumbledore be right? Even the possibility of Sirius being innocent sounded absurd; as did that of Peter killing Athena. Acquila's description of her mother's killer must have been wrong. Peter couldn't kill someone. He couldn't kill a flobberworm if he tried to! Peter had always been a cowardly boy; always trying to keep away from violence. He never got into fights, he never even stood up for himself when students picked on him. One of the reasons Peter had started hanging out with the other three Marauders was because they were capable of defending him against Slytherins who bullied him. Peter would never dare murder someone; especially Athena, who was a fellow Marauder's wife.

But Sirius... Why would Sirius betray James?For Voldemort? For the man Sirius hated the most? Deep down, Remus knew that before that fateful Halloween night, he would have considered Sirius to be the most loyal person he knew. Remus had always secretly thought that Sirius' Animagus form suited him perfectly. Dogs were probably the most loyal creatures on the planet. And the Sirius he thought he knew was the very epitome of loyalty towards his friends. Had he been too hasty in judging Sirius? Should he have made an effort to talk to Sirius in Azkaban all these years? But then, Sirius _was_ the secret-keeper. Unless... unless they switched to Peter without telling Remus. But that seemed a far-fetched theory. Why would they switch to Peter of all people?

As he walked by the Quidditch pitch, he heard someone giggling.

"Oh Harry! A pig's tail! Ha ha ha! I wish I was there to watch Dudley! How did you forget to tell me this earlier?"

His ears perked up on hearing Harry's name and he walked discreetly towards the pitch. He could see Harry and Acquila lying down side by side on the grass below one of the goal-posts.

Acquila was laughing as if she would never stop, staring at the dark sky above. Harry was looking at her, a slowly widening smile gracing his James-like features. And Remus somehow knew that Harry was happy for being the person responsible for making Acquila smile.

Remus was eerily reminded of James and Lily.

He walked away quietly, not wanting to interrupt the children. He was relieved that Acquila seemed to be dealing with the events of the day much better than what he had expected, when he heard Acquila say, "Can you see that star, Harry?"

"Don't tell me you're giving me an astronomy lesson, Acquila! Reminds me of all the homework I've to do," Harry groaned.

"Hey! I'm not talking of astronomy, silly! And even I haven't completed homework. As long as I get good marks in the exams; homework isn't a big deal," she remembered Sirius saying something similar in their first-year.

"Now, look at that star."

"That one?"

"Yes. That's Sirius," she said in a soft voice and Remus stopped in his tracks, turning around to look at the duo.

"The Dog Star. My father was named for that star- Sirius Orion Black."

Harry turned to face Acquila, not knowing what to say.

"When professor McGonagall told me my father's name for the very first time, I asked Mrs. Smith what Sirius meant. And she pointed out the star to me. And then, I used to stay up each night and sneak out of my room into the backyard to stare at the star. It somehow made me feel closer to my father… the brightest star in the night sky. I imagined my father being like the star, standing out bright against the darkness, brighter than all the other stars."

Harry kept looking at her, his green eyes portraying a mixture of curiosity and sadness.

"And then when I came to know of... of his... his misdeeds, I stopped looking for the star. I did not want to associate something so bright, something so magnificent with him. But you know, Harry, tonight as I look at Sirius, I feel like... like my father does care for me... what if... what if he isn't what he seems he is? I want to meet him, Harry. Does that make me a bad person, Harry? Wanting to meet him, talk to him? I don't want his... his soul to be sucked out..."

"Hey!" Harry said softly, his hand grasping Acquila's, "That doesn't make you bad, Acquila. If I were you, even I would have wanted to meet my dad. I wouldn't have him to get the Dementors' kiss. It isn't wrong to feel so."

"I want to meet him, Harry. I want so many answers from him... so much to talk. But above all, I just want to know how it is to have a father, see him with my own eyes... something within me, is telling me that he isn't bad, Harry. He isn't. His voice which came from the Patronus...He cares for me..."

Remus couldn't stay there any longer. He walked away without a backward glance. He would find Sirius. And he would find out the truth behind the entire matter. And he would do it for the girl who wanted her father; the girl who deserved whatever she wanted especially after all that she had gone through; and above all, the girl who deserved happiness.

...

"Oh my! It's time for dinner! Come on! Let's go," said Harry, standing up and extending his arms towards Acquila to help her sit up from the ground where she lay.

"I don't want to go for dinner, Harry. I'll go back to the tower. You go to the Great Hall."

"And why will you not have dinner? Oh God! Acquila! You haven't eaten since you had breakfast this morning! Aren't you hungry? You have to eat!" he exclaimed, as they walked towards the castle.

"You think I want another staring-session? Everyone will stare at me, Lavender and Parvati will want to know what happened at the Ministry, and people who get the evening edition of the Prophet would already have read about it and would want more details. I want some peace…"

"Oh come on! We'll just walk in quietly, eat and then rush off to the tower. You'll fall ill if you don't eat. And then Madam Pomfrey will keep you in the Hospital Wing for a couple of days, and then I'll get bored in History of Magic without you to play hangman with," he said slyly.

"All you need me for is to stop you getting bored in classes? Oh Potter, and here I thought I was your best friend," she elbowed him playfully as he chuckled.

As Harry was about to reply, they saw Hermione and Ron come running towards them.

"Where were you both? I searched for you everywhere! Do you want more points to be taken off from Gryffindor for wandering around the school?" Hermione said.

"Oh please, Hermione," retorted Ron. "Even if we do lose points, you aren't Ms. Know-it-all for nothing. You'll win back all the points in tomorrow's lessons," he guffawed as Hermione glared at him.

She then turned to face Harry and Acquila, "I read the Prophet and…"

"Can we not talk of the hearing, Hermione?" interrupted Harry. Hermione and Ron nodded as the four of them started walking towards the Great Hall.

"Ah! There you are, Acquila," a snide voice spoke up from behind them.

"Malfoy!" groaned Harry and Ron together.

Draco ignored them and walked towards Acquila. It was weird seeing him unaccompanied by his cronies.

"I am so glad, Acquila. Finally you are legally a part of my family. We'll spend Christmas together at the Manor. You'll have an entire wing of the Manor to yourself. And I'll tell Dobby to set up your room as you like it as long as it isn't in Gryffindor colours. And by the time you're back to school after the vacations, you will have learnt which is the right company to keep," he drawled, smirking at Harry and Ron.

"Draco, can we please not have this conversation today? I am tired. We'll talk tomorrow," said Acquila and started Draco caught hold of her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

"Tired? Are you unwell? Should I take you to the Hospital Wing?" he asked her and Harry was surprised to see that Draco seemed genuinely concerned about Acquila.

"No. I am alright. It has just been a long day…""Sit with me for dinner; at the Slytherin table. I want to introduce you to my friends. That's where you truly belong. In the house of pure-bloods; not with people like Weasel and the Mudblood here," he said distastefully, pointing at Hermione and Ron.

"Draco! That's enough! You can't keep insulting my friends! I don't want to talk to you!" she screamed at him and stalked off. Harry tried to follow her, but Draco stopped him.

"This is all because of you, Potter!" he spat at him. "You are poisoning her mind against me! She is my cousin, my blood; she wouldn't have spoken to me like this, unless you influenced her. You may have been Acquila's friend up till now, but no more. Now she is a ward of my mother; a Black. She will not associate with riff-raff like the three of you. My father says mudbloods and half-bloods aren't worthy of associating with a pure-blood Heiress…"

"Malfoy!" Hermione shouted. "Will you stop with your stupid pure-blood…"

"You mudblood! Don't you dare talk to me in that tone!"

Ron pointed his wand towards Malfoy.

"You! Don't talk to her like that! Despite being Muggle-born, she has far more brains than you can ever have, Malfoy!" he roared as Hermione blushed a bright pink.

"Ron is right, Malfoy. And you should be the one staying away from Acquila. She detests your parents, especially your murderer of a father. And I'll make sure that she won't stay at your stupid Manor!"

"Potter! How can you talk of my father in this tone!" he thundered, raising his wand towards Harry, as Harry did the same."Your mother was a low-born Mudblood, just like bushy-hair here. Born to filthy muggles who…"

SMACK!

Hermione had slapped Malfoy with all the strength she could muster, before Harry and Ron could respond to Malfoy's jibes.

Malfoy stood still, as speechless as Harry and Ron, his hand on his cheek was now a bright red which stood out on his pale face."You will pay for this, you mud… Granger!" he snarled and walked away, his hand still clutching his cheek.

"Wow Hermione!" gasped Harry. "That was just… just… I don't even have words for it!"

"Bloody Hell! Ms. Know-it-all actually slapped Malfoy!" said Ron.

As Hermione glared at Ron, Harry said to him in a whisper, "Unless you want a similar slap, you'd better stop calling her a know-it-all, mate."

"Umm… let's go for dinner," said a pink Ron, as they followed Hermione to the Great Hall.

...

"Where were you guys?" said Acquila as soon as the trio perched themselves at the Gryffindor table.

"What took you so long? Another verbal battle with my arrogant cousin?" she asked as she gulped down pudding. Harry noticed that she was almost done with her dinner.

"You're having dessert? Did you even eat properly?"

"I did, Harry. I thought I would better eat up soon, than listen to people discussing the hearing and me setting Malfoy's robes on fire."

"You did what?" said Ron and Hermione together.

Acquila looked down at her bowl of pudding and then said sheepishly, "There seems to have been some news on the radio about me setting Lucius Malfoy's robes on fire at the ministry."

"Well, did you?" asked Ron impatiently.

"Yes. Accidently."

Ron whistled in amazement, while Hermione stared wide-eyed at Acquila.

"You set his robes on fire! But I didn't read anything about it in the Prophet."

"Hermione, let's not talk of it now," said Harry.

"Now tell me, what happened with you three and Draco?"

And this time it was Hermione who looked down at the table. "I slapped him," she muttered.

"Yes, Acquila! You should have seen his face! He was shocked, he stood there speechless! Ha ha! He deserved it!"

"Why did you slap him, Hermione?"

"Well, he started to say nasty stuff about my mother and Hermione and we just couldn't stand it. If Hermione hadn't slapped him, I am sure Ron and I would have," said Harry.

"Oh God! I am sorry, Hermione," said Acquila.

"Why are you saying sorry?" exclaimed Hermione.

"He is my cousin, isn't he? And I know his arrogance won't let him apologise…"

"It's alright, Acquila. In hindsight, I shouldn't have slapped him that hard, but I am just fed up of his nasty jibes at me and my family. I couldn't stand there listening to him. I couldn't control my anger and…"

"It's alright, Hermione. But why isn't he here for dinner?" Acquila asked, looking at the Slytherin table.

"He must have run off to his dormitory, probably ashamed to show his face," snickered Ron.

Acquila stared at the entrance to the Great Hall for quite some time in silence, but on realizing that Draco probably wouldn't come down for dinner, she decided to pay him a visit."I'm going to meet Draco. Do you know where the Slytherin Common Room is?"

"What? Are you mental?" gasped Ron.

"Why would you want to go there?" said Harry. "I'm coming with you."

"No, Harry. You three have dinner and then go back to the tower. I'll have a word with Draco," she said and walked off, ignoring their protests.

"Should I go with her?" said Harry uncertainly.

"No, mate. You don't want another face-off with Malfoy, do you? She'll handle him. He's her cousin after all."

Harry nodded and started piling his plate with food, but his thoughts remained centered on Acquila.

"Wotcher!" they heard Nymphadora say.

"Hi, Dora!" said Harry.

"Where's Acquila?"

"She went off to the Slytherin dormitories to meet Malfoy," said Hermione.

"She… what?"

"Yeah," said Ron, his mouth full of rice.

"Why? Gryffindors don't go to the Slytherin rooms. You know how they are… I'll just go check on her."

"No, Dora. Let her sort it out," said Hermione. She had become good friends with the older girl over the past two weeks.

"Sort what out? What happened?"

"Umm… well, I slapped Malfoy."

"Merlin's beard! You slapped my spoilt, arrogant cousin!" exclaimed Dora, eyeing Hermione with new-found respect.

Hermione nodded sheepishly as Harry and Ron set out explaining the entire incident to a stunned Nymphadora.

...

He stormed into the dungeons, ignoring Pansy Parkinson who called out to him. Draco went straight to his dormitory, where he saw the two buffoons he called friends sitting, munching on pastries.

"Get out!"As usual, they were slow to respond.

"Uh... Why?" said Gregory Goyle after a few moments.

"I don't have the patience to deal with you. Leave! Now! Before I make you get out," he threatened them, and they scampered out of the dormitory.

And it was after he shut the door that Draco looked closely into the mirror on the wall. Despite the dim light in his dormitory, he could see the red impression of four fingers on his pale cheek.

"Ah! Looks like someone got slapped today!" said the mirror in a sly voice.

"Shut up!" he snarled and then touched his cheek gingerly, but retracted his hand a minute later, wincing in pain.

"How about a glamour charm to hide the tell-tale sign of shame?"

"Just shut up! Bloody mirror!"

"A Malfoy getting slapped! Oh the shame! You bring disrepute to Slytherin House!"

"Shut up before I punch you!"

But the mirror continued, chuckling, "Don't tell me it was a wee lass that slapped you!"

"Enough!" he yelled and punched the mirror, his fist colliding with the glass with great force. A long vertical crack developed on the mirror.

"No! Don't!" screamed the mirror, its voice coming from both the sides of the crack

He punched it repeatedly, ignoring the increasing pain he felt, till the mirror stopped protesting. The dormitory fell silent, but the silence was pierced by a loud 'aaah'. He couldn't bear the pain anymore. The glass shards of the mirror had embedded themselves in his knuckles; blood seeping through the cuts. He did not remove the embedded shards. His blood; the purest of blood had been spilled thanks to Granger.

The bloody Mudblood! How dare she! Nobody had slapped him till today, not even his father who would lose his temper quite often. Lucius had scolded his son, threatened him with dark curses on the few occasions that Draco disobeyed him; but he had never slapped Draco.

And today, a lowly Mudblood had the guts to slap the Heir of the House of Malfoy, whose blood was purer than most wizards in the world. She would pay for it. Nobody slapped Draco Malfoy and got away with it. He would get her expelled from school. He would get vengeance for her offence. He would avenge every drop of the blood which was now oozing from the cuts in greater needed to get it healed. But no, he couldn't go to the hospital wing. The nurse would question him, about the slap as well as the injured fist and the news would spread. He would become the laughing stock at Hogwarts, being slapped by a mudblood. Potty and the Weasel had probably told half the school by now. He couldn't face anyone. He would stay in his dormitory.

But he _had_ to get it healed. Maybe he could send his mother a letter asking her to send Dobby to Hogwarts at the earliest. The elf would know how to treat his wounds. After all most of the wounds he suffered while playing around in the mansion in his childhood were treated by the elf.

He walked out of the dormitory, cradling his injured hand, towards the owlery. Hopefully Elatus, his owl, wasn't asleep. The journey to Wiltshire would take long. As he contemplated about what he would write in the letter, he collided with someone, his injured hand stinging painfully.

"There you are, Draco! Oh my! What happened! Your hand!" she gasped, grey eyes boring into his own grey ones worriedly.

"It's nothing, Acquila. Why are you here? Weren't you tired? Go back to your tower."

"No," she clutched his uninjured hand and started dragging him towards the staircase.

"We're going to the Hospital Wing."

He stopped in his tracks, pulling her to a stop as well. "I am not going there. You go back to your tower."

She dragged him into an empty classroom on the right. And sat down on the floor and pulled him down, making him sit by her side.

"Ugh! It's quite dark out here. Why doesn't Hogwarts have lights? Electricity?"

"Elec...What?" he asked, his inquisitiveness aroused.

"Electricity! It's a Muggle thing."

She saw the curiosity in his eyes disappearing as soon as she said Muggle, and she sighed tiredly. She looked down at his hand, unable being able to see it properly in the dim light. Acquila grabbed her wand and said 'Lumos', and bright light emanated from the tip of her wand.

"Where did you learn that spell?"

"Read it in a book. Thankfully, it worked right or I wouldn't have been able to see your hand clearly. Now hold my wand aloft so that the light falls on your hand. It might hurt; I'm pulling out the glass. Stay still," she said softly.

She held his hand gingerly with her left hand and started pulling out the glass with her right winced as she pulled out each shard carefully, but knew that she was trying her best to lessen his pain while doing so. And then he couldn't stop his tears. After all he was just an eleven year old with an understandably low tolerance for pain.

"Oh Draco!" she said sadly, and wiped off his tears with her hand.

Draco felt a strange comfort. He felt cared for. The only person who wiped his tears was his mother. His father had forbidden him from crying, saying it was unbecoming of a Malfoy male. But Acquila did not seem to mind. She genuinely cared for his pain.

"Done!" she exclaimed as she pulled out the last piece of glass. "Now please, let's go to the Hospital Wing. I don't know how to heal this further. I know why you don't want to go to the nurse. You think she'll ask you questions, the people in the hospital wing will see you, rumours will spread. Isn't it?"

He stared at her, wondering how she had figured him out this well.

Taking his silence as a yes, she continued, "Don't worry. I'll handle Madam Pomfrey. And she's a nurse. She maintains secrecy of her patient's illness. And Harry, Ron and Hermione will tell no one of... of the incident," she said referring to the slap.

As he still kept silent, she turned the wand towards him to see his face better, and he shielded his eyes as the bright light fell onto his face. She gasped and he realised that it was probably on seeing his red cheek.

"Nox," she said and the light from her wand went off. She knew he wouldn't want her to see his embarrassment at the slap. But she still moved her hand to his cheek, touching it softly.

"Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course, it matters. You're my cousin, Draco. Despite how much I detest your father, you remain my cousin, my blood. It matters if you're hurt."

"If you really do care for me, then stop hanging out with Potter and his side-kick and the Mudblood. It hurts me seeing the Black Heiress keeping such lowly company. And now you'll be living with us, at the Manor. Stop being friends with them. Hang out with me, instead."

"Oh Draco! Before being the Black Heiress, I was Acquila. Just Acquila. And when I was at the orphanage, Harry was the only friend I had. He cares for me."

Draco stiffened. Why did she always talk of Potter in such a caring tone?

"He has always been by my side. You know, when the Dementors attacked us, he pushed me behind him and faced them himself, putting his life in danger to save me. That's how much he loves me. He is my best friend. And he will always remain so. I will never ever give him up."

"I would have saved you too," he mumbled, but then stopped, because deep down he knew that he would have saved himself first.

Acquila seemed not to have heard him as she continued speaking."As for Hermione, she's a nice girl, Draco. Though she's a bit of a book-worm, she's a good friend to have. And she wouldn't have slapped you if you hadn't insulted her parents."

"Potter insulted my father. He called him a murderer!" he retorted angrily.

"Can we not talk about your father, Draco?"

"Okay. But she's a mud..."

"Don't call her that!"

"Fine!" he shouted in annoyance. "Muggleborn! You aren't meant to be with her."

"Draco. I am not going to leave my friends for reasons like blood purity. They are my friends and they will remain so. I care for them, just as I care for you. Can't you be civil to them for my sake? Please. Blood does not matter; nor does your family background. Please understand that, Draco. I want to be on good terms with you. You're my... my family. But Harry is as good as family to me too. Please don't argue with them. I don't expect you to befriend them. But you can at least be civil to them, can't you?"

As he saw the pleading look in her eyes, he found himself agreeing.

"Alright," he said and she hugged him spontaneously. He sat still, not responding to the hug. He hadn't been hugged often; his father never hugged him, his mother did but quite rarely. He finally put his arms around her, but then flinched in pain as his injured hand came in contact with her back.

"Oops! I'm so sorry, Draco. No more dawdling now. Let's go to the Hospital Wing," she said and dragged him out of the door.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of black eyes had been watching them all along, hidden in the shadows. Severus Snape had seen Acquila go towards the dungeons and had followed her. Seeing Draco walking towards them, he had slipped into an empty classroom which the two children coincidentally entered into a few minutes later.

He thought of all that the daughter of his childhood tormentor had told the Malfoy boy. She somehow reminded him of Lily. Caring, loving, wanting to be friends with Draco despite knowing that his father had killed her mother's family. Even at her young age, she had managed to look past Draco's father and look at Draco for what he really was. And then Severus suddenly loathed himself. If the girl could treat Draco well, keeping aside her hatred of his father, couldn't Severus do the same for the Potter boy? And for Acquila as well?

...

Half an hour later, Draco and Acquila walked out of the Hospital Wing.

"No more punching mirrors, boy. Or I'll make you stay here for a couple of days next time," Madam Pomfrey called out to them.

"Thanks a lot!" smiled Acquila at the nurse, as Draco nodded grudgingly.

"I'll drop you till your tower, Acquila," he said to his cousin as they walked.

"No! I'll go. You go back to your scary dungeon and sleep. I don't know how you Slytherins can live in the dungeons. It's so… so dark. Unlike our common room which is always bright and cheerful," she said.

He shrugged, "Most Slytherins are dark, Acquila. We somehow like being in dark places."

"I hope you don't turn out to be dark like some people from our family, Draco. I know you are a good person, just that the goodness is hidden by arrogance," she smirked at him.

"Hey! I am a Malfoy! Malfoys are supposed to be arrogant!"

"You are your Malfoy-ness," she stuck her tongue out at him. "Now get going. Sleep well and take care of your hand. And remember what you promised me," she said as she kissed him on his cheek and flounced off towards the staircase.

He stared at her retreating figure for a long time, her long black hair glimmering in the light falling from the floating candles; and then he walked towards the dungeons, deep in thought. Could he really be civil to the Gryffindors? Was Acquila correct about her views on blood- purity? But then, she _couldn't_ be correct. She had entered the magical world just over a month ago, while his father was a true pure-blood, deeply entrenched in the ancient pure-blood culture. His father couldn't be wrong. Acquila was wrong. And Draco would have to change her views, after all she would be the future lady of the House of Malfoy.

But he couldn't bear Acquila angry with him. Each time he saw her interacting with Potter, he felt like a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach which he did not like at all. She was supposed to be smiling and laughing with him and not Scar-head. Draco was supposed to protect her, not Potty. He had seen the gleam in her eyes each time she talked of Potter. She was supposed to have that gleam while talking of Draco, not that brat.

He had to be as good a friend to Acquila as Potter was. And not just because she would marry him some day, but because he liked being with Acquila. She cared for him like few other people did. She tended to his wounds, when she could have very well left him alone. She came to look for him when she could have stayed angry with him. She understood his thoughts without him even having to explain them to her. And as he saw the friendship she had with Potter, he knew that she would always be a true friend to whoever she befriended.

And he wanted to be her friend, her confidante, the one she loved and trusted. And if he needed to be civil to Potty, Weasel and the Mud…Muggle-born for that, he would tolerate them.

He would do whatever it took to get Acquila, because she was one of only two people in the world who seemed to care for Draco unconditionally.

...

"Where were you? Fred and George told me you were in the Hospital Wing. What happened?" exclaimed Harry as Acquila entered the Gryffindor Common Room.

"How did they know I was there?"

"Ah! Her Highness, Ms. Black…"

"Heiress of the Noble Houses of Black and Gamp…"

"We were privileged to serve…"

"Your noble friend here…"

"Who was worried about your whereabouts…"

Two similar sounding voices piped up from behind her- the Weasely twins.

"Oh! Hey!" she said to them in confusion. After the day on the train platform, they had never bothered to talk to her, shunning her as the rest of the Hogwarts population did.

"We realised that you aren't as bad as people say you are," said Fred.

"And so, Messrs Fred and George apologise for ignoring you the past month and extend a hand… or rather two hands of friendship towards you!" put in George as the two twins took hold of a hand each and shook them.

"Oh! Umm… thanks," she smiled tentatively at them. "But won't you tell me how you knew where I was? Because I'm sure you weren't in the Hospital Wing. I did not see you anywhere."

"Ask us no questions…"

"And we'll tell you no lies…"

"Oh, alright. But I'll find out how you knew," she raised an eyebrow at them.

"Ah! Ms. Black here seems to have an investigating streak in her!"

"Come on, Gred. Let's get going. We don't want our secrets to be revealed, do we?"

"Oh yes, Feorge! And the two little love-birds here need their privacy, don't they? See you!" he called out and went up to the dormitory with his twin as Harry and Acquila both blushed, not meeting each others' eyes.

"So," said Harry, once Acquila hthey both had stopped blushing enough to look at each other. "What did Malfoy say?"

"Phew! So you mean to say that Malfoy has agreed to be civil to Ron, Hermione and me."

"Yes. He promised me."

"I am sure he won't. He's Malfoy. He hates us."

"I know he has been mean to you since day one, but can't you just give him a chance, Harry."

"You know what his father did! How could you even go and…"

"Harry," she interrupted him. "My father killed fourteen people. But you are still here talking to me, aren't you? You were the one who told me that people's families don't matter. What matters is how you are as a person. So can we not apply the same principle to Draco?"

Harry did not reply, but then said, "But… but he's _Malfoy_! He's evil."

Acquila chuckled, "Evil is too strong a word, Harry. Just promise me, that as long as Draco is civil with you, you will be too."

Harry groaned. "Alright. I'll be good to Draco," he said pointedly, "As long as he is good to us."

"Thanks, Harry!" she said, hugging him as he hugged her back.

"Now off to bed, Aqua! You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow!"

"Good night, Harrykins!" she punched him playfully.

"Hey! I am not 'Harrykins'!"

But she ran off towards her dormitory, giggling mirthfully; leaving Harry looking at her with a smile on his face.

...

Ms. Black,"Acquila heard a voice say from behind the breakfast table where she sat with Harry and Hermione. Ron was off with Percy, looking for Scabbers who was n owhere to be found.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall?"

"I am aware that you have a free period after breakfast. So I want you to come to my office. I wish to talk to you regarding the incident at the hearing concerning accidental magic."

"Oh! Alright, Professor."

"Percy Weasley will tell you where my office is."

As the deputy headmistress walked away, Hermione's eyes were wide.

"Is she going to teach you how to control your magic?"

"Umm... I'm not really sure, Hermione."

"You're so lucky! I wish I had lessons with professor McGonagall too!"

"I'm just lucky I didn't get punished for setting Malfoy's robes on fire," she said dryly.

Harry sniggered.

"What?" Hermione and Acquila asked him simultaneously.

"I was just thinking. Yesterday must have been a momentous day in the history of the Malfoy family. First, the father gets his robes set on fire by an eleven year old witch, and then Malfoy junior gets his pale cheek imprinted by a slap from the girl he loves to hate!"

Acquila joined him in his laughter as Hermione turned a bright red.

...

As McGonagall sat facing Dumbledore at the table in her office, his half-moon spectacles glimmered as the sunrays coming in through the open window fell on them.

"Why me, Dumbledore? You know as well as I do that you are far better at wand-less magic than I am. So why don't you teach Acquila?"

"Do you not wish to teach her, Minerva?"

"Oh no! Acquila seems to be a very powerful witch, based on what you told me about her displays of magic in the Ministry and in your office. I would like teaching her. But if she really needs to be taught to control her magic, it ought to be you teaching her, not me."

"I would have been privileged to groom such a powerful witch, Minerva. But unfortunately, the child doesn't trust me. And her distrust isn't unfounded. I have had to hide things from her, and even though it is for her own good, she resents me for it. It will take her a lot of time to regain faith in me, and open up her mind to me. And as you know, if she has to gain even a semblance of control over her magic, she has to be able to trust her teacher. She trusts you far better than me since the trip to Diagon Alley the day you gave her the Hogwarts letter. I am sure it will be better if you taught her than me doing the same. In addition to this, if I do teach her, I am sure she will try to pry for information from me. When I spoke to her yesterday, I could sense that she knew I am hiding something from her. I do not want her to know of Sirius' so-called betrayal of the Potters."

"So-called betrayal?"

Dumbledore kept silent for a moment and then replied, "There is a possibility of Sirius being innocent."

"What!" exclaimed McGonagall, her hand over her heart.

"I have reason to believe that Sirius did not order for Athena's killing. But I do not wish to get Acquila's hopes high; or even yours for that matter. I know you cared greatly for Sirius."

McGonagall's eyes gleamed with what Dumbledore thought were unshed tears.

"Great Merlin! I… I hated the boy… for leading them all to their deaths. And you say… you say he might be innocent. And to think that he spent ten years in Azkaban for something he wasn't guilty of. I should have trusted him, Albus. I should have made an effort to get his side of the story… should have pressed for a trial for him…" she said, her voice shaking.

"Minerva! If he is indeed innocent, which I believe he is, I am as much at fault as you feel you are. I even had the power to ensure that he got a trial; but I did not. I hope to get to the bottom of the matter within a few days. Until then, let us not dwell on this. And needless to say, Acquila should not get wind of this. I do not wish to give rise to hopes in her, unless I am totally certain of Sirius' innocence."

"I understand," said the deputy-headmistress.

"But Albus, Acquila isn't the only powerful witch to have set foot in Hogwarts. So why do you wish for her to have special lessons? I don't remember any other eleven-year olds being taught how to control their magic. Is there something you are hiding from me?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Certain things need to be done for the greater good of the wizarding world. And this is one of those."

"Greater good? Now along with Acquila, are you going to keep me in the dark too? What is it that you aren't telling me?"

"Oh Minerva! Acquila channeling her magic correctly is of utmost importance in the years to come. That is all you need for now. When the time comes, I will let you know the rest."

McGonagall glared at him through her spectacles.

"As you wish, Albus. After all, I cannot question you under veritaserum; though I wish I could do that," she snorted. "You always keep all your cards close to your chest, Albus. Sometimes, you ought to reveal things to others. Especially, those matters which concern your students," she said pointedly.

"Now, enough of this matter. Did you place an order for a broomstick for Harry?" he asked, leading the talk to safer pastures; when they heard a knock at the door.

"You may come in, Ms. Black," said Dumbledore. "I was just leaving."

Acquila entered the office, wand in hand.

"I will take leave of you now, Minerva. Don't forget Mr. Potter's broomstick. Goodbye, Ms. Black. I hope you have a nice day."

"Thank you, professor."

As Dumbledore left the room, shutting the door behind him, McGonagall gestured to Acquila, telling her to take a seat.

"Professor, a broom for Harry?" said Acquila.

"Yes, Ms. Black. Since the Gryffindor team needs to start training soon, Mr. Potter needs a broom. We will buy him a broom from the school fund."

"Professor! Can I buy a broom for him?"

"Brooms are costly, Ms. Black."

"Professor, please. In school, on every birthday of Harry's; I wanted to him give a gift. I knew how his aunt's family treated him. They never even got him a birthday cake! I wanted to make up for their measly gifts to Harry. I wanted him to get a nice gift on his birthday, just like other kids did. But I could do nothing of that, as I did not have money. All I could do was draw cards for him, hoping that would be enough to bring a smile to his face on his birthday. Now that I have vaults over-flowing money, why can't I buy a broom for Harry? And I don't even want him to know that I bought it for him. I just want to be the one putting a smile on his face. Harry has stood by my side, through everything, Professor. This is the least I can do for his friendship. He has been there for me always, never even demanding anything in return. Please, Professor, let me buy him a broom. He loves flying more than anything else. Please."

"I understand your sentiments, Ms. Black. And I am sure the Headmaster will agree to this. I will buy it through owl order at the earliest, telling them to take money from your vault."

"Thank you so much, Professor! And would you buy a Nimbus Two-Thousand? Harry told me last evening that he wished he had that broom; he heard the Weasley twins saying that it is the latest broom in the market."

"Okay. I will talk to the Headmaster about . Potter should get his broom by breakfast time tomorrow."

"Thank you so much, Professor!" beamed Acquila and she was surprised to see the usually stern witch smiling at her in return.

"Now Ms. Black, moving on to the reason why you have been called here, the Headmaster told me of your displays of accidental magic."

Acquila cringed in embarrassment. "I did not mean to do so on both occasions, Professor. I was just angry, and somehow without meaning to do so, those things just happened."

"I understand, Ms. Black, those events were above your control. And that's the reason why you are here. I must impress upon you, that you are a very powerful witch; and if you are taught to gain control over your magic, you will grow up to be a witch to reckon with. Now, what do you know about wandless magic?"

"Wandless magic is… well, magic without the use of a wand. Like I did at the ministry; like Harry and I did at school once. I think that having a wand is what sets wizards apart from other magical beings who can do magic without a wand… like elves and goblins."

"You're correct, Ms. Black. A wandless spell is performed without the use of a wand. This form of magic can be particularly volatile, and can only be used effectively by powerful and disciplined wizards and witches. What you performed at the Ministry was indeed wandless magic, but it was accidental. What I am going to teach you is to control your magic. At a young age, most witches and wizards can perform wandless magic, even at will. But once they get their wands, they start channeling their magic through their wands, and gradually they start depending solely on their wands and lose touch with performing wandless magic. Professor Dumbledore tells me that the spell you inadvertently performed on Mr. Malfoy at the Ministry was an extremely advanced one, laced with great magical power. We do not want such wanton displays of dangerous magic again, do we? Which is why, you need to learn to get your magic under your control."

Acquila nodded. "Am I the only student who is going to…"

"Yes, Ms. Black," interjected McGonagall. "The Headmaster wants only you to take lessons with me."

"Why only me?"

"As I told you, you have great power. And the Headmaster doesn't want a repeat of the Ministry incident."

As Acquila's trusting eyes looked into hers, McGonagall felt a stab of guilt for lying to Acquila. But how was she to tell her that Dumbledore had a hidden motive behind making her take these lessons?

"Let's start now, Ms. Black," she said, wrenching her thoughts away from her guilt.

"Professor, can I ask you something? You said I am a powerful witch. Why is that so? Were… were either of my parents powerful too?"

McGonagall kept silent. She was hoping Acquila wouldn't mention Athena and Sirius. Hearing Sirius' name from his own daughter reminded her of what Dumbledore had said. How could she hide the possibility of Sirius' innocence from his daughter? Damn Dumbledore and his secretive nature.

"Professor?"

"Oh yes. Your mother was an extremely intelligent witch, but not as powerful as you are. As for Sirius, he wasn't extraordinarily powerful, but once he joined the Aurors, he learnt to achieve the maximum out of his magical core, and he became quite adept at performing wandless spells too. But yes, none of them showed as much power as you seem to have. I personally feel that it comes from your father's side of the family. The Blacks had been known to produce extremely powerful witches and wizards till frequent inbreeding gave way to insanity rather than power."

"Inbreeding?"

"Yes. But that is a discussion for another day. Now let us get started," said McGonagall and placed a red cup before her.

"Look at this cup, Ms. Black. I want you to concentrate on this cup. Try to change the colour of the cup to blue. And kindly hand over your wand to me."

Acquila gave her wand to the deputy-headmistress and stared at the cup. She willed for it to change colour. But nothing happened.

"You aren't concentrating enough, Ms. Black; not that I expected you to achieve it in the first try."

"I can't! Nothing's happening!"

"Now, remember you had told me that you can get buds to blossom into flowers? How did you do that?"

"I just put the flower in my palm and… and then I wanted it to turn into a flower. And then… it just blossomed. I do not know how I did it. It just happened."

"So then you need to have a strong will. You could make the bud blossom as you weren't under any kind of pressure. You did it because you wanted to. Now that you know your powers, I do not want you to force yourself to change the colour of the cup, because I am telling you to. Your will to change it, should come from within, like you did with the bud. Divert all your inner magic towards the cup. You may touch the cup with your hand if need be. But concentrate all your thoughts and energies on the cup. Think of the colour of the cup changing from red to blue. That should be the only thing on your mind."

Acquila stared and stared at the cup, but nothing happened.

"Argh! Why is nothing happening? You said I am a powerful witch. Then why can't I…"

"Hold the cup in your hand, Ms. Black. And now you have to focus all your magic towards the cup. It should happen from within you. Urge your magic to take over the cup and change its colour!"

Acquila held the cup in her hand, thinking of nothing else, but its colour. She visualized its colour turning from red to blue. She could hear McGonagall saying something, but she couldn't make out the words as all her concentration was centered on the cup. And then suddenly, she felt a spark of power flow from within her through her arm, to her fingers and finally into the cup. And the minute she felt the power touch the cup, it turned blue!

Acquila had hardly let out a cry of joy, when the cup exploded into pieces, porcelain shards flying all around.

"Oh my! I am so sorry, professor! I didn't… I didn't mean for that to happen!" she exclaimed guiltily.

With a wave of her wand, McGonagall vanished the pieces of the cup.

"Now, Ms. Black, this is what I meant when I said that you are a powerful witch. And this is exactly why wandless magic is known to be volatile and difficult to bring under control. When we use a wand, our magical energy flows through the wand. But without a wand, there is nothing to channel the magic which we put into a spell, nothing to direct the magic and to control its power. You _did_ change the colour correctly, but what happened was that you put so much of magical power into it, that the cup couldn't hold it resulting in it exploding"

Acquila's eyes were wide with astonishment. But then, her face turned fearful.

"Professor! What if I attempt to perform a spell on a human and by putting too much of power into it, I hurt the person? Can that happen?"

"It is possible, Ms. Black. But isn't that why we are here? To help you gain control over your power?"

"I don't want to perform wandless magic, Professor."

"What! Why?"

"What if… what if that day… I had killed LuciusMalfoy? I wouldn't want something like that to happen."

"Oh dear,we are here to prevent such incidents from happening again! You have a rare gift, Acquila," said McGonagall, referring to the girl by her name for the first time.

"Do not let it go waste. You can achieve a lot with your magic. And once you become one with your magic, understand the extent of your power, such incidents will not recur. And for that, we need to work hard. You are an incredible girl, Acquila. If your mother was alive, she would have been proud to have such a daughter. Do not let your powers go in vain. Master your magic, and you can help make the wizarding world a much better place to live in. You may not realise this now, Acquila; but you will have an important role to play when you grow up," said McGonagall, remembering what Dumbledore had said. "And it is imperative for you to embrace your powers and master them, not run away from them for fear of hurting people."

Acquila nodded solemnly. "I understand, Professor."

After a couple of more attempts at unsuccessfully trying to change the colour of the cup without exploding it, McGonagall noticed that Acquila seemed tired.

"Now off you go. Your Charms class will begin soon. And I think Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger must be eagerly waiting to hear of what I taught you today. We will meet again next week and continue with this."

"Thank you, Professor," said Acquila and walked out of the office, thinking over all that had taken place in the past hour.

...

The next morning, the four Gryffindors sat at their house table in the Great Hall; Ron was complaining to Acquila about Nyx.

"What's your bloody cat's problem? It wants to kill Scabbers!"

"Please, Ron. All cats chase rats. It's natural feline behavior. Nyx can't help it."

"Keep her away from Scabbers or I'll…" but Ron stopped his threat mid-way, his eyes bulging out of their sockets in shock as he stared at the six large owls who placed a large thin packet at their table, knocking Harry's bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.

Harry opened the letter and read it aloud, his face beaming.

_DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE._

_It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o' clock for your first training session._

_Professor M. McGonagall_

"Oh my! A Nimbus Two Thousand! I've never even touched one," moaned Ron enviously as he and Harry jabbered about the features of the broom.

But Hermione looked at Acquila who seemed to have a knowing gleam in her eyes.

"Why is it that you don't seem surprised, Acquila?"

"Umm… I am surprised, Hermione. I just prefer not expressing it as animatedly as the boys do," she replied, motioning towards Harry and Ron who were completely engrossed in their talk.

"Why do I think you are hiding something? If you knew nothing about the broom, you would have been by Harry's side congratulating him and smiling on seeing him happy."

"Hey! I don't smile on seeing him… I mean, I do but you're making it sound… Goodness! It's nothing, Hermione," she stuttered as Hermione grinned at her shrewdly.

"You know, Acquila, the Sorting Hat had debated on putting me in Ravenclaw. It seemed to think that I had an uncanny ability to notice stuff and deduce conclusions from them. Why do I feel that you indeed have a hand in Harry getting the broomstick? Did you buy it for him by any chance?" she smirked as Acquila groaned.

"Alright, alright. I did buy it for Harry. I spoke to Professor McGonagall about it yesterday. But please, keep it a secret. I don't want Harry to know, or anyone else for that matter," Acquila whispered.

Hermione grinned widely at her, "I knew I was right! But don't you worry. I won't tell anyone."

"Won't tell anyone what, Granger?" said a sly voice from behind them.

Hermione turned around and looked at Draco in astonishment. Never had he called her Granger, he usually stuck to 'Mudblood'. And she hadn't expected him to come and talk to her after the slapping incident.

"Umm… hello, Malfoy," she said hesitantly as Acquila smiled encouragingly at Draco, happy to see him keeping his promise.

"What's that you have there, Potter?" he asked Harry, "a broomstick? First-years aren't allowed them," he said, a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face which he failed to conceal.

"It's a Nimbus Two Thousand, Malfoy! What did you say you've got at home, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets are flashy, but they aren't in the same league as the Nimbus. And you may leave, Malfoy. You aren't welcome at our table, unless you want another slap," he said rudely.

"Don't, Weasely!" snarled Draco, losing his cool. "I am tolerating you only for Acquila's sake, or I would have punched you in your face right now, for daring to speak so to me!"

"You bloody…"

"Enough!" shouted Acquila, before Ron could complete his sentence."Stop arguing, please!"

"Acquila is right, Ronald," said Hermione. "You didn't have to be rude to Malfoy."

"What? Didn't he call you a 'you-know-what' yesterday? Or has little-miss-bookworm forgotten all about it?" Ron retorted.

Acquila looked at her cousin, "Draco, don't you have Charms with the Ravenclaws? You'll be late. Go on to class. I'll see you later," she smiled at him and Draco nodded, departing after one last glare at Ron and Harry.

"What's your problem, Ron? And stop calling me a bookworm and a know-it-all! And why were you rude to Malfoy? He was perfectly civil to you!" Hermione shrieked in anger.

"Don't give me a lecture, Hermione. I know how to deal with people like Malfoy."

Acquila stood up and walked away. "Coming, Harry? Don't you have to keep the Nimbus in your dorm?"

Harry nodded and followed her in relief, glad to get away from the bickering pair of Ron and Hermione.

...

_One week later_

It had been a week since he had run off from Hogwarts. He sat on the golden sands of the quaint little beach. There were hardly any people around. He watched the sun as it sunk down the horizon, thinking of his life. Just like the sun, everything in his life had started going downhill since that Halloween night.

And after the exultation at the news of his daughter's survival, he had lost her all over again to that bloody Death Eater Malfoy. Was his life destined to be this way; shrouded in darkness? Didn't he deserve any happiness? He loved his daughter and Harry more than life itself. And instead of being with the, he was here on the isolated beach, staring desolately at the sun, on the run from the Aurors and Dementors.

But he couldn't give up, could he? He was Sirius Black. He never gave up. And how long could he remain away from Hogwarts? Each moment he spent away from his daughter ate at his insides. He would have to find a way to prove his innocence, to convince his daughter that he wasn't a killer. She probably hated him, his sweet little Acquila. He had seen her photograph standing next t Dumbledore in the atrium at the Ministry of Magic, in a copy of the Prophet which he grabbed from a semi-wizarding town on the way to Armadale. She looked like a typical Black. And she had his eyes- his grey eyes. And long black hair, just like Andromeda. And she was beautiful. She would grow up to be one of the prettiest witches of her age. But there was nothing of Athena in her, neither her auburn locks, nor her blue eyes, nor her sweet smile. She was a Black through and through.

All Sirius hoped for was that Acquila's nature was more like Athena's than his own. If he was true to himself, he knew that he wasn't a perfect man. He was reckless, short-tempered at times. He took decisions without thinking them over. And to be honest, he was arrogant at times. And he had been a bully at school. He did not regret all the trouble he had given Snape over the years, but he knew it wasn't something Athena would do. She was the epitome of kindness and compassion. She never judged people; always found something good in everyone. He hoped Acquila had inherited all of Athena'a qualities.

Acquila. He had to get back to his daughter. He couldn't run away from his mistakes anymore. He had been on the run for a week, trying to get over his self-despising thoughts; thinking of a way to prove his innocence. But now, he would go back to Hogwarts- where the two people in the world who meant everything to him trotted on his padded feet towards a cottage where an old lady lived. The back-door of her house which led to her kitchen was always left open. And Sirius used to go in there stealthily and grab a bite of whatever lay on the kitchen platform. The old lady, who found it difficult to walk, had never once spotted him in her kitchen.

He walked in through the back-door of the dark kitchen and put his paws on the kitchen platform to grab a loaf of bread which lay there. But try as he might, he couldn't reach the loaf though he stood on the very tip-toes of his hind had no other option, he had to reach the loaf, and he had to satiate his hunger if he had to survive. He transformed into a man, relishing the feel of standing on just two legs after an entire week. His hands and arms felt much better too, not having to support the weight of his massive dog body. Just as he extended his hand towards the loaf and grabbed it, the darkness of the kitchen had vanished. The old lady who had put on the tube-light stood at the door of the kitchen and on seeing a stranger standing there, she let out a loud shriek.

As Sirius looked at the lady and his grey eyes met her brown ones, she shrieked even louder.

"Aaaaaaa! It's the escaped criminal! Help! Help!"

Sirius pocketed the loaf and though he hated what he was about to do, he had no option. He shoved the lady aside, making sure she didn't hit her head on the wall and ran out of her kitchen. He heard footsteps come running in- probably neighbours who had heard her screams. He flung himself into the bushes behind her house before they could spot him; and transforming back into Padfoot, he ran away under the cover of the dark evening.

...

Remus nodded to the proprietor of the lodge where he had been staying since the past month.

"Hello, Mr. Lupin!"

"Hey, Bob!"

"Had a nice day, did you?"

Remus smiled wryly, "It was the exact opposite of nice, Bob. I'll see you later tomorrow, I'm really tired now."

"Good night, mate," Bob mock-saluted him.

Remus opened the door to his room and then collapsed onto the bed in his room.

Where was Sirius? Remus had looked for him everywhere- Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and almost all the nearby places where he thought Sirius could have hidden. But Sirius was nowhere. Even after a week of searching, he hadn't found him. He had smelt him Padfooot at a few places in the Forbidden Forest and even spotted a few paw-tracks in the bushes behind a quaint cottage in a deserted part of Hogsmeade. But that was it. Remus was sure that Sirius had left Hogwarts.

But why would he do so, if he was indeed after Acquila and Harry? Was it possible that Dumbledore was right and Sirius was indeed innocent? He was startled out of his thoughts by the appearance of a Patronus- a Phoenix.

"Sirius has been spotted by a muggle. Come to Hogwarts as soon as possible," said the phoenix in Dumbledore's majestic voice.

Remus got up from his bed. He had been hoping to get a few hours of sleep. But his tiredness seemed to have vanished at the news of Sirius being sighted. A moment later, he apparated with a pop to the boundaries of Hogwarts.

...

"Ah! Remus! There you are! Take a seat."

"Where is Sirius?"

"He was spotted by a Muggle at the beach at Armadale."

"That's quite a small town, isn't it?""Yes; quite a small population. I think that is why Sirius chose to go there. But a Muggle lady spotted him and called up what the Muggles call a help-line number and reported it to the Muggle Law Enforcement Authorities. Fudge sent me a message regarding it just a few minutes ago."

Remus nodded. "So I'll leave now."

"How about tomorrow morning? You seem tired, Remus. You don't need to over-work yourself in looking for Sirius."

"I am not going to wait till tomorrow, Albus. For all we know, Sirius must be on his way out of that place by now. I have to find him. I have to talk to him. I'll gather a few clothes and then leave for Armadale.""Why the sudden urgency to talk to Sirius? The last time we spoke, you seemed rather disinclined to believe the possibility of him being innocent."

"I am doing this for Acquila, Albus. It's what the girl deserves. I refused to be her Godfather, I couldn't even stop Narcissa from getting hold of her guardianship. The child deserves some happiness after all that she has gone through. This is the least I can do for her."

"You are indeed a noble man, Remus. Good luck," Dumbledore said as Remus walked out of the office.

...

Three days later, Acquila walked up the spiral staircase in Dumbledore's office.

"Come in, Ms. Black," said the Headmaster as Acquila knocked at the door. She sat down on the chair opposite his.

"I think you know why I have called you here."

"Is it about the man I saw when the dementors attacked Harry and me?"

"Indeed," smiled Dumbledore and with a wave of his wand, a photograph appeared on the table. Half of it seemed to have been torn off. It contained a blonde-haired man, with watery eyes; he had his arm around someone who seemed to have had long black hair. But the part of the photograph containing the black-haired man was torn off. But Acquila's noticed none of that. Her eyes stared at just the short blonde-haired man.

"It was him! I am sure! It was him! He killed my mother!" she shouted.

"Are you sure, Ms. Black?"

"I am sure, Professor! It was this very man. Who is he? What's his name?"

"I cannot tell you his name, dear," sighed the old wizard.

"Why not? Why do you keep on hiding things from me, Professor?"

Dumbledore cringed at her words.

"Please understand, Ms. Black. I promise you that I will ensure that this man is found and punished. But…"

"I want to know his name, Professor. Please," she interrupted him. "If you do not tell me, I will find out myself."

"Do so by all means," he smiled at her; he had already ensured that there was no way she could find out that the man was Pettigrew. All the newspaper editions and books containing photographs of Peter Pettigrew had been vanished from the castle. Dumbledore did not like keeping secrets from the girl, but he did not want to give her hopes till he was certain of what exactly had transpired that Halloween night. And he had seen how Acquila had reacted when she came to know of Malfoy's hand in the McKinnon family's murder. He did not want her to look for Pettigrew to take revenge for her mother's death, especially when Pettigrew was very much capable of killing Acquila as well.

"I am sorry for keeping secrets from you, child. But it's for your own good. But I give you my word, I will find the man and ensure that your mother gets justice."

"Okay. May I leave now?" she asked, quite rudely. Dumbledore nodded. She would be mad at him for some weeks, but in the end, she would realise that what he did was for her own good.

After Acquila left, Dumbledore took a piece of parchment and started writing on it in his distinctive handwriting.

_Remus,_

_I just showed Peter Pettigrew's photograph to Acquila, and she confirmed that it was indeed him whom she had seen sending the killing curse at Athena. We need to find him soon._

_Finding Sirius can wait. Start looking for Pettigrew. I am sure you are well-acquainted with the places Peter liked to frequent. I will try to get Moody on to the case as soon as possible. But till then, you look for Pettigrew and inform me as soon as you get any leads._

_Albus Dumbledore._

...

A few days later, Acquila walked towards the Quidditch pitch accompanied by Ron and was evening; the sun gradually made its way towards disappearing behind the hills of Hogsmeade. As they neared the pitch, they saw Harry soaring on his broom, his messy hair flying in the wind; he seemed happier than they had ever seen him. Acquila smiled as Harry caught the snitch and zoomed towards the ground. She saw the team rush towards him.

"That was amazing, Harry! Play the same way in the match and the Quidditch Cup will be ours this year!" she heard Oliver Wood say.

The girl with braids who Acquila thought was named Angelina ruffled Harry's hair saying, "You play really well, Harry. Nobody can stop us from winning the cup this year!"

"Don't be overconfident, Angelina. Many a team has lost matches due to..."

"Let's get going, guys, before the skipper decides to bore us with more strategies," George interrupted his captain.

"Hey! Come on, be serious!" retorted Wood,but the rest of the team was already running towards the changing room. Wood bellowed after them but then finally gave up and turned to Harry. "Coming, Potter?"

"You carry on. I'll come later," he replied and Oliver walked away.

Acquila, Ron and Hermione went towards Harry.

"Wow, Harry! You fly so well!"

"Yes, mate! I reckon you'll be as good as Charlie was!"

"Thanks, Ron. But I think it's all thanks to the Nimbus. It flies so much faster than the school brooms."

Harry caught Hermione nudging Acquila when he mentioned the broom.

"Are you girls hiding something from us? Why did you nudge Acquila?"

"Oh! It's nothing," said Hermione, smiling slyly.

"Yes. It's nothing," piped in Acquila.

"Yeah, mate. These two are always neck-deep into books. I doubt they care about broomsticks and Quidditch," smirked Ron.

Acquila glared at him and then turned to Harry as Hermione started bickering with Ron.

"So, Harry? I remember you promising..."

"I know, Acquila. Come on, I'll teach you how to ride a broom."

But Hermione glared daggers at them. "Are first-years even allowed to fly unsupervised? You'll lose us house points! And it's dangerous, Acquila! You might fall off!"

"Let them be, Hermione. All you can think of is rules and house points. Let them have some fun," retorted Ron.

"No, Ronald! You don't understand! She..."

"Ms. Know-it-all, stop lecturing me!"

"You're such an..."

But Harry and Acquila heard no more. They were already air-bound,sitting on the Nimbus. Hermione yelled at them, coaxing them to come back, while Ron gave a whoop of joy.

Harry sat behind Acquila, holding on to her, while teaching her to maneuver the broom.

"Harry! This is incredible!"

"It would be incredible for me as well if you could tie up your hair, Acquila! It's flying onto my face!"

She grinned as she tied up her hair; Harry held on to her tightly, lest she fall off without her hands holding the broom for support.

"This is really amazing, Harry! I never knew riding a broom would be this amazing. When I was younger, I always wanted to sit in an plane, but never could. I'm sure this totally beats a plane."

"Hmmm," was all that Harry said.

After a few minutes' silence, Acquila asked Harry,"Are you alright? Why aren't you speaking?"

"I'm fine, Acquila. I'm just...happy."

"Happy?"

"Yes. Happy."

"Me too, Harry. I'm happy as well; happier than I've been in recent days."

They flew on in comfortable silence, watching the giant squid in the great lake and the setting sun.

"Do you want to fly alone? You can try, I think you'll be good at it," said Harry after a while.

"You think I can?"

"Yes, you can. I'll tell you how to lower the broom to the ground and then you can fly by yourself."

She nodded excitedly as they descended.

Unknown to them, an enormous dog stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, watching the duo. The Dementors glided around the Forest, but the dog didn't mind them in the least; for Sirius knew that if he had a wand with him, he could have cast the best Patronus ever as his eyes fell on his daughter.

He had been watching the pitch since the past hour. And when he had seen Harry flying, it was like seeing James again. The same messy hair, thin built, the same talent at Quidditch and the same love for flying. He had never missed James as much as he did today. He wished Jamie was by his side, watching his son fly. He would probably have been the proudest father on earth. Harry... The little baby whose first foray into the world of flying had been on the toy broom which Sirius had gifted him, had grown up into such an incredible young boy.

He prepared to depart on seeing that the practice was over, but then decided to wait to watch the sunset. And thank Merlin he did wait! Because a few moments later, he saw the very person he wanted to see- Acquila!

She sat in front of Harry, her long hair flying into Harry's face, her face beaming with happiness. He then saw her smiling and tying up her hair, Harry protectively holding on to her. Sirius' heart lsoared with happiness. They seemed to be good friends. Though he himself couldn't be with his kids, they were there for each other- his Godson and his daughter.

As he saw their silhouette over the lake,he thought to himself that if he was in his human form, Sirius' smile would probably have extended from ear to ear.

He watched them descend towards the ground and he could see them no more. He turned to walk into the Forest, but stopped on hearing a cry of exultation.

It was his daughter! Flying all alone! His heart froze in fear; what if she fell off? He readied himself to sprint towards the pitch if need be, to try to catch her before she fell to the ground. But Sirius was proud to see that she flew quite well. Not as well as Harry; but she seemed to fly fearlessly for someone who was flying for the first time. She kept quite close to the ground, not flying as high as she had with Harry. Sirius walked closer to the pitch, wanting to see her clearly. But a minute later, as he looked up at her, he saw her grey eyes make contact with his. She gasped on seeing him. He was astounded at how she seemed to be able to see him even in the fast diminishing light. She hovered in the air, continuously staring at him, her eyes reflecting fear, curiosity and what was that? Recognition?

"Come down, Acquila!" he heard a boy call out to her. Probably Harry.

But she seemed oblivious to the shout. She kept looking at the dog, her eyes wide, not even blinking once. And then he saw her lips part and utter, 'Dad?'.

...

She zoomed towards the ground and collided with Ron.

"Oww! Watch out! You rammed straight into my arm!"

But Acquila ignored him. She grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him onto the broom.

"Come on! Get onto the broom!" she screamed at Harry.

"What's the matter, Acquila?" he asked, but sensing her urgency, he clambered onto the broom and she took off into the air, before he was even seated properly.

"Look there! Oh! Where did he go?"

"Who?Where?"

"Oh my! It's all dark now. I can't see him. Can you?" she shouted in frenzy.

"You aren't making sense, Acquila!" Harry shouted worriedly. What was wrong with Acquila?

"I saw the dog! The dog in the Patronus!"

"Your father's Patronus?"

"Yes! The dog was the same as the Patronus was!"

"It must have been some other creature, Acquila."

"I think it was my father," she said in a small voice.

"Your father?That dog? No, Acquila. I doubt you even saw a dog. It's dark and the forest is supposed to be filled with all kinds of creatures. It must have been some other animal..."

"No. It was that dog. I'm sure. He kept staring at me."

"Let us go back, please. It is dark and…"

"No. Come with me, to the forest. That's where I saw the dog."

Harry made the broom descend to the ground and as they got off the broom, he looked straight at Acquila. "We aren't going there."

"Fine. You wait here. I will go alone," she said stubbornly.

"Acquila! You know there are Dementors there. And it's already dark now. Don't you remember what Professor Dumbledore said? Do you want to face those Dementors again? Please, Acquila. I doubt you saw a dog. And even if you did," he hastily continued as Acquila made to interrupt him. "Even if you did see a dog, it can't be your father. Your father is on the run from the Aurors. You think he would come here and risk getting kissed by the Dementors? You aren't going into the forest. We are going back in. Come on," he said and pulled her towards the Castle, surprised to see her compiling.

Acquila said nothing as she followed Harry, oblivious to Ron and Hermione badgering them with questions. She knew it wasn't safe for her to go into the Forest. Maybe Harry was right. She must have seen some other animal and thought it was a dog. But then, she remembered seeing the dog's eye very clearly. They seemed almost human. And they were grey- an unusual shade of grey- just like her own eyes; just like her father's eyes were in the photograph which lay in her trunk. Was the dog indeed her father?

None of them noticed the huge dog standing in the darkness, grey eyes staring at the children with longing and love.

...

It was the last day of the month of October. Acquila could hardly believe that two months had passed since she first came to Hogwarts. The days seemed to pass by in a blur- attending lessons, watching Harry'sQuidditch practices, browsing the books in the library with Hermione, lessons with McGonagall and spending time with Draco and Tonks (whenever she got time off her NEWT studies). She hadn't seen the dog again, despite her best efforts. Harry refused to let her go to the forest to look for the it in the Forbidden Forest.

She walked to the Charms classroom with Ron, Harry and Hermione. They were all greatly excited for the lesson, as Professor Flitwick had announced that they were ready to make objects fly.

They reached the classroom and Professor Flitwick put them into pairs to practice the charm. Acquila was paired up with Neville, who was extremely glad to have her as a partner, knowing that she would help him with the spell. Harry was paired with Seamus, while Ron was paired with Hermione.

After Professor Flitwick explained the spell, the students started attempting to levitate their feathers. Acquila saw Seamus' feather catching fire and Neville's feather just twitching feebly. Hermione and Ron seemed to be bickering again. As she looked at her own feather, imagining it floating in the air, she suddenly saw it fly up to the ceiling!

"Ms. Black, Ms. Granger! Well done! Everyone look here! They both have performed the charm perfectly!" exclaimed Professor Flitwick.

She saw Hermione grinning in delight, she had levitated her feather at probably the same time as Acquila had. Acquila was relieved that nobody seemed to have realised that she had performed the charm wandlessly. She hadn't even meant for it to happen! She sighed in exasperation. She had a lot more to learn on how to control her inner magic; when she felt Neville nudge her.

"Acquila, you… you didn't use your wand!" his eyes were wide with amazement.

"Umm… yes," said Acquila sheepishly.

"How did you do that?"

"Well… it just happened, Neville," she said, not knowing whether she could trust Neville with her secret.

"Can you teach me how to do it? With my wand, I mean…"

"Sure. But let me try it with my wand once," she smiled at him.

By the end of the class, Acquila had successfully managed to levitate her feather. Neville too had somehow made his feather rise two feet high after eleven tries at the spell.

As she walked out of the class through the crowd of students with Neville, she heard Ron who was walking ahead say, "It's no wonder nobody except Acquila can stand her. She's a nightmare honestly."

To Acquila's horror, she saw Hermione rush past her. She was in tears, having apparently heard Ron's words.

Acquila stomped up to Ron. "Ronald Weasely! How dare you say that about Hermione! You are so rude! Uncaring of others' feelings! And you, Harry! How can you just stand there listening to what this mean git is spouting?"

"Acquila…" Harry tried to pacify her.

"No. Don't 'Acquila' me! By the time I come back with Hermione, I want Ronald to be ready with an apology! Am I clear?"

Ron gulped and nodded.

"She's sounding like my mother, mate!" he whispered to Harry as Acquila stalked away from them.

"I heard that, Ron!" she turned behind and shouted. Ron's ears turned red and he hastily departed, pulling Harry with him.

...

Half an hour later, Acquila sat dejectedly outside a classroom on the second floor. She hadn't found Hermione. She had searched the library, the dormitory, the common room and even the owlery; but Hermione was nowhere to be found.

"Aha! Little Miss Black skiving classes?"

It was Fred Weasley along with his twin. They both sat down on either side of her.

"Never thought you had it in you to bunk classes, Acquila," smirked George.

"She's started early! I don't remember us bunking classes this early in first year, Georgie! Who knows, she might break our record at bunking classes by the time she reaches her seventh year!" The twins laughed together.

But Fred noticed Acquila's sombre mood.

"What's the matter, Acquila? Need some cheering up, do you?"

"I'm looking for... Hey!" she exclaimed suddenly, remembering how the twins had known she was in the Hospital Wing that night.

"I need a favour."

"Why not, my lady? George and Fred at your service!" The twins stood up and bowed to her in an exaggerated manner.

Acquila chucked, "Thank you, brave knights! I have a quest for you."

"Ah! A quest! What is it, fair lady?" said Fred in a majestic voice.

"I need to know where Hermione is. It's urgent."

"Oh! You have chosen the perfect people for the task," winked George.

"Give us a minute," said Fred and they both walked into the classroom.

A minute later, they came out of the classroom.

"She's in the girls' bathroom," said Fred, explaining exactly where Hermione was.

"Thank you so much!" exclaimed Acquila and started walking towards the bathroom.

"It was an honour to help you, my lady!" the twins said in unison.

"But Hey! What happened? Why are you looking for her?" Fred called out to Acquila's retreating figure.

"Ask your git of a brother," she shouted.

"Perfect Prefect Percy?" yelled George.

"Nah! Ronald!" she yelled in reply, disappearing from the twins' line of sight.

"Come on, Freddie!"

"Aye! Let's go question Ickle Ronald Bilius!" said George as he fished the Marauders' Map out of his pocket to look for Ron.

...

Tell us what's the matter, Hermione!"

"It's nothing."

"How can it be nothing?"

"I want to be alone for some time. Please."

Acquila heard Lavender and Parvati speaking to Hermione as she neared the girls' bathroom.

"Hey Acquila! You'd better not go in there. Hermione wants to be left alone," Lavender said to her as they met halfway to the bathroom.

"I've come to talk to her. I'll handle her," Acquila replied as the two girls departed.

"Go away, Acquila. Leave me alone," Hermione said in a rasped voice.

But Acquila walked determinedly towards Hermione, sitting down beside her on the floor, leaning against the wall.

Hermione's eyes were red, her face puffy from all the crying.

"You know, Hermione," said Acquila. "At the orphanage where I lived, all the children kept away from me."

She handing the sobbing girl a handkerchief.

"They were scared of me, frightened that I would hurt them. They never played with me, and I was ignored by one and all. But I still tried to take it in my stride, till one day a boy there told me that I had no friends because I was a freak, I was abnormal, not worth befriending. And that night, I kept crying for what seemed like hours, till Mrs. Smith came and took me in her arms. And then, she told me that just because the boy said something rude about me, didn't mean that what he said was true. Him calling me a freak didn't make me a freak, nor did it make me unworthy of having friends. She told me that every person is different, special in his or her own way. And when the right time comes, we finally meet people who accept us as we are, with all our faults and drawbacks, who look for the good hidden within us... true friends. And when Harry and I became friends, I realised the truth of Mrs. Smith's words."

Hermione nodded.

"Ron calling you a horrible person, does not make you horrible, Hermione. Currently, he is just looking at those qualities of yours which... which irritate him, or which he dislikes. But if he looks deeper within you, he will find the good aspects of you- like how you help Neville with his homework, how you talked to Draco that day despite all that he said against your family, or how you cheered me up when people glared at me when they knew I was a criminal's daughter."

"What if he never sees that I am not a horrible person, Acquila? What if he's right? And I have no friends?"

"Oh Hermione! If you did not have friends, would I be sitting here with you?"

Hermione gave her a tiny smile and then said, "You know, Acquila, in my Muggle school, I hardly had any friends... due to some incidents with accidental magic... because I was different. So when I got my Hogwarts letter, I wanted to know everything about the magical world, so that I wouldn't be perceived as different here. I read all possible books... so that... so that I would be on par with children from magical families... so that," she started sobbing again, "so that I would have friends... but Ronald, he was right. I don't have friends. Everyone hates... hates me..."

Acquila pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back gingerly.

"Don't cry, Hermione. Nobody hates you. Ron was just being a git. I'm sure he's sorry for what he said," she said, mentally thinking of ways to curse Ron if he wasn't ready with an apology.

"And you aren't different, Hermione. You are special..."

"I'm not," she said dejectedly.

"Of course, you are. Even students from magical families don't know as much about magical stuff as you do. Has there been any spell you haven't been able to do? Any question which you haven't known the answer to? Any homework you haven't completed on time? Any teacher who hasn't praised your work in class, except Snape, of course," she added and Hermione chuckled.

"Which other student can do that?"

"Well, you can," Hermione said sheepishly.

"Oh no. I haven't even completed a foot of the three-foot essay we had to write in Astronomy. And unlike you, I don't know any answers in History of Magic because I play hangman with Harry in class. And I wasn't the one who helped Neville with his potion the other day, it was you. I'm not as dedicated to studies as you are, Hermione. I just like knowing new things, gaining knowledge. But you're special, Hermione. Even the teachers say so. And believe me, you are a great friend. If there is one person I can trust after Harry and my cousins, it's you. You observe things that others never do. You were the only one who realised that I bought the Nimbus for Harry. You were the only one who tried to console me at the sorting when you didn't even know me well. You understand things, you understand people. Doesn't all that speak of how special you are?"

Hermione smiled a genuine smile, wiping off the remnants of the last few tears from her face.

"Thank you, Acquila. I just wish Ronald hadn't..."

Acquila interrupted Hermione, "Ron will come around, Hermione. Believe me, he'll soon realise that you're a great person to have as a friend. Trust me."

Hermione nodded.

"So do we leave? The Halloween feast awaits us," Acquila winked.

"Can't we sit here for some time?"

"Of course we can. For as long as you want."

Hermione hugged Acquila. "I'm glad to have you as a friend."

"The feeling is mutual, Hermione," Acquila smiled.

...

"Can you smell something?" asked Acquila to Hermione as some time later, as they sat discussing something. A disgusting smell, a mixture of an unclean public toilet and soiled socks, seemed to permeate the air.

"Ugh! You're right. What a foul stench!" said Hermione, trying to hold her breath.

And then suddenly, they heard what seemed like the footfalls of a gigantic creature, and the sound of something wooden being dragged along the stone floor of the corridor outside the bathroom.

They barely had time to stand up when they saw the creature enter the bathroom. It was an enormous troll! It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite grey; a lumpy body and a small bald head. It was holding a huge wooden club which it dragged along the floor as its arms were so long. Hermione and Acquila shrank against the wall, trying to get as far away from the troll as they could, when the door of the bathroom slammed shut, and they heard the key being turned in the lock.

Hermione let out an ear-splitting shriek, staring fearfully at the troll.

"Hermione, I'll try to divert the troll, you run," gasped Acquila. She could sense her magic searing within her, wanting to lash out at the troll. But Acquila couldn't risk the room exploding at Hermione getting hurt. She tried to control her power, as McGonagall had taught her, but her magic seemed to have a mind of its own.

Suddenly, the door flew open and the girls saw Harry and Ron step in, fear etched on their faces.

"Acquila!" screamed Harry at the same time as Ron screamed, "Hermione!"

Acquila tried to push Hermione out of the way of the troll towards Harry and Ron, but the troll advanced towards the girls it's tiny eyes staring menacingly at them.

"Run!" Acquila screamed at Harry and Ron realising that her magic was straining against her, wanting to release itself on the troll.

"No! Ron, confuse it!" she heard Harry scream.

But the next minute, the room exploded, taps and pieces of the wall flying around. The troll stood confused, and then took a few steps back, as Harry, Ron and Hermione tried to protect themselves from the flying debris.

And then suddenly, Acquila saw a part of the ceiling about to fall down on Harry, and she lunged at him, trying to push him away. But the next moment, she felt a sharp pain at the top of her head and then all went dark.

...

"When will she wake up?" Acquila heard Harry's worried voice ask someone.

"This is all my fault," she heard Hermione sobbing.

Acquila tried to speak, to convince Hermione that it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't even open her eyes, let alone speak. She couldn't move at all.

"She'll take a couple of hours to wake up, dear. Now off you all go. You can come and meet her tomorrow morning."

"No. I am going nowhere," Harry said stubbornly.

"Nor am I." Acquila heard Draco and Dora say together.

"Don't be silly, children. She doesn't even know you are here. And she'll wake up in a few hours. You can come meet her in the morning. Now leave. Come on. Off you go. That applies to you too, Mr. Malfoy," said madam Pomfrey.

"I am staying here. You can't make me go. My father will hear of this."

"Mr. Malfoy, Acquila is my patient. And I will let nobody affect her recovery, even your father. Now leave, before I levitate you out of the room."

She heard footsteps walk out of the room, along with outraged mutterings about silly nurses and dumb trolls.

A few minutes later, she fell into an uneasy sleep.

...

The dog stared at the cat, stunned at what it conveyed to him.

His daughter, in the Hospital Wing, attacked by a gigantic creature!

He sent the cat ahead, telling it to discern whether the coast was clear. He had to go to the Hospital Wing. He had to ensure that his daughter was unscathed. He trotted away behind the cat, his thoughts centered on his only daughter.

He entered the Hospital wing. It was shrouded in silence, except for the steady breathing of a person, which his sharp canine years heard clearly.

Nyx came up to him, telling him that there was no one in the Hospital wing.

He went towards the bed from which he could hear the breathing. As he neared the bed, he could smell his child, his flesh and blood, the only link he had to Athena. His breath hitched in his throat. And he noiselessly transformed into a man.

He stood transfixed by the side of the bed. His eyes drinking in the sight of his child, her black hair falling onto her forehead. Her face was illuminated by the moon rays which fell on her through the window. He stared at her in wonder, his face breaking into a wide smile, as the tears slid down his face. Tears of happiness. Happiness at finally seeing his daughter with his own eyes. Tears of sadness. Sadness at missing all her growing up years, missing all her childhood.

He touched her cheek, caressed her hair, and pressed a kiss on to her forehead. And then he could control his emotions no longer. He bent down and hugged Acquila, holding her as close to her as he could, not wanting to let go. His tears fell onto her hospital gown, but he didn't care. How he wanted to tell her how much he loved her, how much he wanted to be with her, give her the love she was denied all her childhood, apologise for not doing enough for her.

He was surprised that the Acquila hadn't woken up yet. But then realised that the nurse had probably given her a potion to help her sleep and recover sooner.

Suddenly, he heard Nyx mewing softly, signalling that someone was coming towards the Hospital Wing. He took one last look at his daughter, bending down and kissing her on her forehead. When he straightened up, he was shocked to see grey eyes staring back at him, a small smile of Acquila's face.

"Acquila!" he whispered, but she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Nyx started tugging at his robes, wanting him to leave before someone entered the room. And he transformed back into the Grim and exited the room, following the cat through the cover of darkness. Acquila probably hadn't even know it was him. She was in the strange place between consciousness and unconsciousness. But he would forever remember the smile on her face as she gazed into his eyes.

As they walked into the corridor, Nyx suddenly walked away from Sirius and started running in the opposite direction.

"Who's there?" called out a voice. It was Madam Pomfrey.  
Nyx started mewing loudly.

"Oh! It's you! Acquila's cat aren't you? No animals in my Hospital Wing. Off you go," she said. But Nyx remained unmoved and started walking towards the Hospital.

"Merlin!" exclaimed an exasperated Madam Pomphrey and picked up Nyx, taking her towards the staircase.  
Sirius made use of the diversion and crept through the darkness towards the end of the corridor leading to the exit.

...

The next morning, Acquila woke up to see Draco, Dora, Harry, Hermione, Ron and the Weasely twins standing around her bed.

"Acquila! You're finally awake!" exclaimed Harry, putting his arms around her.

"Mr. Potter, let go of Acquila. Do not exert her further!" shouted Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh… Sorry," Harry grinned sheepishly.

Acquila sat up in her bed, smiling at the people gathered around her. Fred and George bowed to her again.

"Finally! The fair lady awakes!"

Acquila smiled at them, as Madam Pomfrey came towards her. "Why did you sit up, child? Come on, lie down again. You are supposed to rest."

"I am fine!"

"Oh no, you are not. You are still tired and exhausted and your head has yet to heal completely."

"Please, Madam Pomfrey! I am fine. Really! And my head isn't hurting! I don't feel tired at all. I am just hungry."

"Alright. I will get a bowl of porridge for you. And then you all are going to leave. My patient needs to rest."

Acquila saw Draco roll his eyes at the Nurse's words and then he sat at the edge of her bed.

"I was so scared, Acquila. You… you just weren't waking up when I came to see you. I thought… I thought something would happen to you…"

"Oh Draco! I am fine," she hugged him.

"This is all because of you, Potter. Look where you've landed her!"

"Malfoy! Don't blame this on Harry!" shouted Ron.

"This is my fault, Acquila. I made you wait in the bathroom when you had wanted us to go to the Great Hall…"

"Oh no, Hermione. It isn't your fault," Nymphadora put in.

But the twins noticed that Acquila was hardly listening to what they were saying.

"What's the matter, Acquila?" asked Fred.

"Did someone come to visit me last night?" she asked them in a small voice.

"Last night? No. We wanted to wait, but Madam Pomphrey made us all leave," Dora replied, kissing Acquila on her cheek.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Acquila," said Harry. "Why?"

"I thought I saw someone… I must have just imagined it," replied Acquila, not wanting to tell them that she thought she had seen her father by her bedside last night.

"So, what happened? How did I land up here? I don't really remember much…"

Harry, Ron and Hermione launched into a lengthy narration of what transpired in the bathroom.

"Wow! So you guys defeated a fully grown troll by sticking a wand up its nose and knocking it out with its own club!" she exclaimed as Ron grinned at her proudly.

"And our little brother also apologised to Hermione," said George, winking at the bushy-haired girl.

As Hermione was about say something, Madam Pomfrey came bustling in.

"Out! Come on, leave now! Acquila needs to eat!"

They all left reluctantly, promising to come back in the afternoon when she would be discharged. The Nurse handed over the bowl of porridge to Acquila and she started gulping it down hungrily. Ten minutes later, she saw Harry come in again.

"Madam Pomfrey will make you leave again," she told him as he sat at the foot of her bed.

"I took permission from Professor McGonagall to meet you," Harry replied, taking the empty bowl from Acquila's hand and keeping it aside.

"Don't do that again, Acquila. Please."

"Do what, Harry?"

"You shouldn't have saved me. If you hadn't lunged at me to push me aside, you wouldn't have been here in the hospital wing, you wouldn't have hurt your head!"

"I couldn't just stand there watching the ceiling fall on your head, could I?"

"You don't know… you don't know how I felt when I saw you lying on the ground, unmoving, blood gushing out from your head… I… I thought you were dead, Acquila. I tried to wake you up… but then the troll advanced towards Hermione and I jumped onto it. And by the time we defeated the troll and I got back to you, you had turned so pale… I thought you weren't breathing. What would I have done if I lost you, Acquila?" he said, his emerald green eyes brimming with an emotion Acquila had never seen earlier. She realised with a jolt that it was fear, and something deeper which she just couldn't recognise.

"Promise me you won't do anything like this again."

"No, Harry. If you're in danger, I will obviously try to protect you…"

"But not at the cost of your life."

"Wouldn't you have done the same thing if you were in my place, Harry?"

"I would have but…"

"No buts. You mean a lot to me, Harry. And I can't just stand there watching you getting hurt. Hadn't you put yourself in front of the Dementors to save me? It's the same thing, Harry."

He smiled at her, realising the truth of her words and then hugged her tightly. The hug suddenly reminded Acquila of something.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I saw my dad yesterday."

"What?" he exclaimed. "That isn't possible, Acquila. He can't enter Hogwarts, isn't that why we have Dementors stationed at the Castle entrance?"

"I know someone was here. Someone hugged me… and I remember looking at his face… my father's face… his eyes are just like mine… it was him, Harry. I know it was him."

"No, Acquila. I don't think so. You must have just dreamt of it. I'm sure. Someone would have spotted him if he did indeed enter the castle. It must have been just a dream."

Acquila nodded reluctantly, realising that Harry was probably right. But the nagging feeling within her which told her that it was indeed her father refused to cease. She would search for him, no matter where he was. She was sure he had come to see her last night. She remembered looking into his grey eyes, she remembered him pressing a kiss onto her forehead, she remembered feeling the dampness of his tears falling onto her gown as he held onto her tightly. It was her father. And he did indeed care for her. And she would find him, no matter what.

**Author's Note: **Do let me know whether you liked this chapter :-) The next one will have Snape and the Malfoys making an appearance. And Sirius playing an important part at the match as well! :-)


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** Another very long chapter. Hoping you like it. Do tell us what you think about it.

**xxSunnyXBlackxx**, **MistressoftheDark12**, **Theta-McBride**, **Merida**- Thanks for your reviews! :)

**CheyenneRianne**- Your review made my day! Thank you so much! :)

**vhemmady**- you'll find the answers to the point you raised in PotterHead999's review

**PotterHead999**- Thanks a ton! :)

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. Everything is owned by JKR, except for Acquila and Athena.

**Chapter 12: The Match and the Mirror**

Acquila was finally discharged from the Hospital Wing in the evening, after three thorough check-ups by Madam Pomfrey. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked beside her on the way to the Great Hall. Harry kept looking sideways at Acquila, as if worried that she would fall or hurt herself.

"Can you walk, Acquila? Do you need help?"

"I'm fine, Harry. I can walk."

She wondered why Harry was acting so strangely.

"Don't worry about classes, Acquila. I have taken down notes for you for Charms, History of Magic and Astronomy," said Hermione suddenly.

"Let the girl breathe, Hermione. She's just out of the Hospital wing and you saddle her with talks of studies!" said Ron.

Acquila had expected Hermione to launch into a full-blown lecture on why studies were important, but she was astonished to see the girl respond with "You're right, Ron. I shouldn't be talking of studies now."

"Actually, you were right, Hermione. Studies are important as well."

Acquila looked at Harry, wondering what had brought about the change in Ron and Hermione, but Harry just shrugged.

"How are they being so friendly with each other?" she whispered to him and Ron and Hermione continued talking in the background.

"Well, Fred and George gave Ron a piece of their mind; threatened to put bubotuber pus in his pants while he was asleep if he didn't behave well with Hermione."

Acquila chuckled as Harry continued, "And when we realised the troll might hurt her and you, Ron was quite concerned about Hermione. And you can't not be friends after defeating a fully grown mountain troll together, can you?" he said.

Acquila nodded. They had reached the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Almost all of the students stared at the four Gryffindors, knowing that they were involved in the troll incident.

"How do you handle all the attention?" Hermione asked Harry and Acquila who had become too used to the staring and whispers for it to affect them.

"It's annoying at first, but then you get used to it," said Harry, piling sausages onto Acquila's plate.

"Harry! I can serve myself!"

"But the nurse said you shouldn't exert yourself. Let me help you, Acquila."

"I can't even eat all this! Stop piling food onto my plate!"

"But Madam Pomfrey said you need to eat, you need energy. Alright, I won't add anything else to your plate," he said hastily, looking at the expression on her face.

"Is he going to be like this always?" she asked Hermione who sat next to her.

"He's just worried. He was so scared when the ceiling fell on you. He just kept saying that if something happened to you, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. He cares so much for you, Acquila. Ron said Harry didn't sleep at all last night, he kept worrying about you. And now that you're out of the Hospital, he's still scared you'll exert yourself and land up in the Hospital again."

Acquila nodded solemnly.

"What are you girls whispering?" asked Ron between swallowing mouthfulls of food.

"We were just discussing Lavender's new robes," said Hermione, a sly grin on her face.

"Ugh! Girls and their gossip!"

But Harry looked at Acquila. "What's the matter?"

"Thank you, Harry."

"Where did that come from?"

"I just felt like thanking you."

"For what?"

Acquila just smiled in response, but Harry realised exactly why Acquila was thanking him.

"You're welcome," he grinned at her.

...

"The Gemino Curse or Doubling Charm is a spell used to duplicate an object, creating an exact replica of the target entity. It can also be used to bewitch an object into multiplying repeatedly when touched," Acquila heard Nymphadora muttering furiously under her breath as she neared the metamorphmagus who was sitting at a corner of the Hufflepuff table.

"Umm… Dora?"

Nymphadora seemed not to have heard her.

"The charm was invented by a pair of reclusive twin witches, Helixa and Syna Hyslop, who used it to create duplicates of every item inside the mansion, in which they lived together their whole lives. After their deaths, their relatives finally learned of this practice, discovering two, duplicated sets of hand-written instructions for the spell, one left by each twin," Dora continued.

"DORA!" Acquila yelled and the book Dora was reading from fell to the floor with a loud 'thump'.

"Oh my! I am sorry, Dora! I didn't mean to startle you, but you didn't hear…"

"It's alright, Acquila," she smiled, bending down to retrieve her book.

"If you're studying, we can talk tomorrow."

"Oh no! I always have time for my little cousin," she smiled. "Come, sit here," she said, patting the chair next to her.

"Umm… Can we talk elsewhere?" Acquila asked, as she noticed the Hufflepuffs at the table eyeing her inquisitively.

"Alright," said Nymphadora, and led her cousin out of the Great Hall.

"Where are your friends? I thought Harry wouldn't have let you out of his sight. He was very worried about you."

"Well, he wanted to come with me, but I told him to go back to Gryffindor tower. I wanted to talk to you alone. What were you studying for, by the way?"

"Charms," Dora groaned. "Flitwick has scheduled a test for Friday. And I have to get a good grade at charms or I won't be able to get into Auror training."

"You want to be an Auror?" asked Acquila, her eyes wide. She had read about the Auror force, their strenuous training programmes and the life-threatening situations they inevitably faced in their careers.

"Yes! I always wanted to become an Auror, since I was a kid. Since Siri…" she stopped in mid-sentence.

"Since what?" asked Acquila, knowing what her cousin had been about to say.

Nymphadora said nothing, instead leading the younger girl through a dark room. In the dim light, Acquila saw that they had entered the Trophy Room. Her cousin waved her wand in a complicated fashion, and the next moment, bright blue flames emerged out of nothing.

Nymphadora levitated the flames onto the floor between them and gestured to Acquila to sit down opposite her.

In the light of the flames, Acquila saw that Dora's face was pale.

"Dora? Have you turned pale or is this some of your metamorphmagus stuff?" she asked her cheekily.

The older girl just mock-glared at her, then sighed in resignation.

"This is about Sirius, isn't it? You want to ask me about him, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Can't say I'm surprised... I had actually expected you to ask me about him long ago," she snorted and then fell silent.

"So?" asked Acquila, seeing that Dora did not seem willing to speak.

"You should ask my mom, you know. She never talks to me of him, but she might tell you. Sirius was sent to Azkaban when I was seven. Mom knows a lot more about Sirius."

"I did think of asking Aunt Andy in my letters to her, but I heard her at the hearing, Dora. She seemed so pained when she spoke of my dad, so…so betrayed. I didn't have the heart to question her further. But you'll tell me, won't you? All that you know about him? Please, Dora."

"What do you want to know about him?"

"Everything that you know… since the very beginning of his life.

Nymphadora remained silent, and after a deep breath, she started to speak.

"Sirius was as you know, the Heir to the Black family. Sirius' parents were second cousins. Marrying cousins takes place quite often in pure-blood society," she said at the shocked look on Acquila's face.

"My maternal grandfather, Cygnus and Sirius' mother, Walburga were siblings. Despite their desperate want for a son, an heir, my maternal grandparents did not have a son. They only had three daughters. So when Walburga gave birth to Sirius, the event was celebrated for days by the Blacks. He was the heir who would carry on the Black line. Everyone expected him to be the typical pure-blood heir; hating Muggles, pushing for blood supremacy. But Sirius turned out to be exactly the opposite of what the family expected him to be. He went against everything the Blacks stood for, even at a very young age. My mother stopped believing in twisted pure-blood ideals, but that was after she met my dad in school, in her fifth year. But Sirius was different. Somehow, despite growing up with parents like Walburga and Orion, he had a clear idea of right and wrong since he was a child. He hated his parents' thoughts on wizarding blood. He stood up to his parents; stood up against everything they believed in, against their muggle-hating ideals, against their use of dark magic, against their so-called superiority by virtue of being Blacks."

Acquila stared at her cousin, the awe on her face clearly visible in the blue light of the flames. Her father didn't seem at all like someone who would kill thirteen Muggles, someone who would support Voldemort. She felt inwardly proud of her father for opposing his bigoted family.

"His parents started hating Sirius; they showered all their love and attention on Sirius' younger brother Regulus. When Sirius got sorted into Gryffindor at Hogwarts, his mother stormed into Hogwarts, yelling at Sirius before the entire Great Hall. She considered him a blot on the ancient line of the Blacks; the first Black to be sorted into a house other than Slytherin. At Hogwarts, Sirius had three friends, who stood by his side through everything. I don't remember their names; I was too young when I met them, though I think my mum might know them. Mum was disowned by the Blacks for marrying my Muggle-born father. And it was after that, that Sirius grew closer to my mother. Both of them had a lot in common. My mother always said that Sirius was her favourite cousin, the only member of her family who kept in contact with her; the only sane Black. It was when Sirius was in his sixth year that his parents reached the end of their tether. They wanted him to be betrothed to some pure-blood heiress. But Sirius refused outright as he was in love with your mother. It was then that Walburga used an unforgivable curse on him. And that very night he left the Black home for good. He stayed at a friend's place and cut himself off completely from his parents and his family. Walburga too disowned him, burning him off the family tapestry."

Acquila was horrified! She had read all about the unforgivable curses. How could her father's own mother use an unforgivable curse on him?

"After Sirius passed out of Hogwarts, he joined the Auror force. I still remember the day he came home to meet us when he cleared Auror training. He was top of his class in the Auror force. I was just six years old that time, but on hearing Sirius talk of how being an Auror was, how they saved lives, fought against dark forces, dedicated their lives to freeing the wizarding world of evil, I knew that someday I wanted to be an Auror too. I have never seen anyone speak with the passion that Sirius did that day, never seen anyone who seemed to hate Voldemort as much as he did."

Acquila nodded, her mind reeling with thoughts as Dora continued.

"Alastor Moody headed the Auror department at that time. And he was someone who never openly praised any of his protégés. But he was known to have said that Sirius was the best student he had mentored, and if he continued the same way, he would be one of the best Aurors ever. Everyone expected Sirius to take over as the head of the Auror department after Moody's retirement, despite his young age. Sirius was the only man to have faced You-know-who four times and come out of it alive. He was like a beacon of light for those fighting the Dark forces."

Acquila felt a strange feeling surging within her, and then realised that it was pride! She felt proud of her father.

"He started dating your mother in their sixth year at Hogwarts. They got married two years after they left school. And you were born the year after their wedding. I remember coming to St. Mungos to see you the day after you were born. And I have never seen Sirius look happier than he did that day. You meant the world to him. The joy in his eyes when he held you in his arms… I still remember that moment…"

Then Dora took a deep breath and Acquila realised that she was hesitating over what she was about to say.

"The last memory I have of your father was the day before Halloween. He had come home to meet us and had promised to take me around the neighbourhood for 'trick or treat' the next day. I kept waiting for him for hours. He had promised me that he would come. And Sirius had never once broken the promises he made to me. I finally fell asleep crying, wondering why he hadn't come. The next morning when I woke up, mum told me that he was arrested by the Aurors for killing thirteen Muggles and a wizard with a single curse and that I wasn't to mention him ever again. I refused to believe her, the Sirius I knew would never ever have even thought of killing innocent people. But mum told me that the Aurors were certain that Sirius was indeed guilty. He laughed as the Aurors took him away, not even seeming repentant for what he had done. Mum never spoke about Sirius after that day. Whatever I told you about his childhood is what my dad told me when I asked him."

"Do you… do you really think he was guilty?" asked Acquila in a choked voice.

"Everyone says he was. Muggle witnesses said he blew the street apart…"

"I didn't ask you what everyone said, Dora. I asked you what you think," she interrupted her.

Nymphadora stared at Acquila, an unreadable expression in her eyes.

"No. The Sirius I knew would never have killed innocents. Sirius was one of my favourite people. I always looked forward to his visits; he was the wittiest person I knew. There was never a dull moment when Sirius was around. And he genuinely cared for those he loved. He… he was a role model for me. I wanted to become like him when I grew up… he was everything one could want in a human being…but…but," she paused. "But what I feel about him, doesn't absolve him of his guilt, Acquila. He wasn't even given a trial because they had unquestionable proof of his guilt. He wasn't what we thought him to be, or he wouldn't have killed those people…"

Acquila just nodded, teary-eyed.

Dora was wrong. Her father didn't seem like someone who would kill people, someone who would order for his own wife to be killed. Acquila did not know how she knew, but she was certain deep within her heart that her father was a good man. And she would find him. And if he wasn't guilty, no force in the world could stop her from having him declared innocent.

"Is there anything else that you want to know, Acquila?" Nymphadora asked her.

"No. Thank you for telling me all this, Dora."

"You're welcome. But please, don't dwell on this. Sirius _is_ guilty. I do not want you hoping that he is innocent, because doing so will only give you pain."

Acquila nodded in agreement to placate her cousin, though she knew she would never follow what she had said.

"Do we leave now?"

"Yes."

But as Acquila got up to leave, she saw an ancient-looking board on which many names were engraved in golden letters.

"What's this?" she asked Dora, pointing to it.

"The list of Head-boys and Head-girls of Hogwarts," she replied, holding the blue flames near the board for Acquila to read the names.

Acquila glanced at the names on the board, till her eyes finally fell on two names. A huge grin lit up her face.

"What are you smiling at?" Nymphadora asked her.

"I'll tell you on the way out," she replied as they left the Trophy Room.

...

_He stood by his daughter's bedside, hearing her steady breaths, her face peaceful. She smiled in her sleep, probably engrossed in a pleasant dream. He took one last look at her, and then turned to transform back into the dog, when suddenly, he felt a soft hand grasp his. He turned and saw that it was Acquila. She had woken up. Her smaller fingers intertwined with his rough larger ones, full of calluses from having traversed the Forbidden Forest and the hills of Hogsmeade in his dog form._

_"Dad," she said in her sweet voice; the one word he was dying to hear. She stood up and hugged him tightly; her head resting against his chest, listening to his racing heartbeats._

_"Acquila!" he let out a strangled sob, lifting her off the ground easily and hugging her as if he would never let go._

_After what seemed like moments, he put her down on the bed and sat facing her. And it was then, as his grey eyes met hers, that he saw something he had wanted to see since the day he knew that Acquila was alive- Love._

_Her eyes shone, bright with love for her father. And he knew then that she knew he was innocent, she had forgiven him for not having been there for her, for not being able to protect her mother, for being the reason she ended up living at an orphanage._

_She smiled at him, a dazzling smile which brightened her entire face and which was reflected in the wide grin gracing his own face._

_"I love you, my child," he said, his voice laced with undisguised emotion._

_"I love you too, Dad," she replied, wiping off the tears which he hadn't even realised were escaping his eyes._

"Bow Wow!"

The dog growled in pain, his back stinging. He looked around and saw Nyx standing over his sleeping form. And it was then that his heart sunk to hitherto unknown depths.

It had been just a dream. Just a dream.

Nyx mewed, apologising for having scratched his back with her claws; but she had wanted to wake him up, to tell him that Acquila had been discharged from the Hospital Wing; that she was fine.

He paced around, his mind jumping from joy to disappointment- joy at his daughter's recovery; disappointment at his dream being just a dream. Acquila probably didn't even know that he had visited her last night. She probably thought that her father was a murderer; hated the very thought of him.

He paced even more rapidly, till Nyx stood in his path. She rubbed herself against his leg, consoling him, trying to tell him that she would help him claim his daughter. And he knew that the feline had somehow sensed his disappointment, his grief. He nudged her with his muzzle, expressing his thanks.

And then he snorted inwardly at the situation. When he was a young child, not yet sorted into Gryffindor and the Heir to the Black family; a single cry of his would bring the house elves scurrying over to console him, to fulfill his wishes. In his first few days at Hogwarts, James had always been by his side, never letting Sirius brood over anything, always making him smile and laugh. Later, it was the Marauders, even the traitor Peter. They brought Sirius out of his occasional bouts of loneliness, especially James. And then it was Athena who stood like a rock by his side, encouraging him, loving him unconditionally, supporting him when he was disowned, when he saw his friends and fellow Aurors falling to the Death-Eaters. Sirius Orion Black had always had people who loved him, who wiped off his tears before they even reached his cheeks; people who never let him brood, who cheered him up in a trice. And whom did he have now? A cat! A feline was consoling him! Oh the irony!

But he wasn't Sirius Black for nothing. If there was one thing life had taught him, it was never to give up. He would get his daughter at the earliest. He couldn't wait anymore. He had to prove his innocence. He wanted to spend the rest of his living days with his daughter and his godson- his family. He wanted to watch them grow up through their Hogwarts years, take up jobs, fall in love, get married to their respective spouses... He wouldn't waste any more time. He had to prove his innocence, get the Dementors and Aurors off his back and live life as a free man. And the key to his freedom was the back-stabber. Peter Pettigrew.

He turned to the Nyx, her green eyes boring into his. Ten minutes later, the cat walked off determinedly towards the castle, passing by the Dementors. And Sirius trotted off to the cave in Hogsmeade. Nyx would catch hold of Pettigrew and bring him to Sirius. And Sirius wouldn't repeat what he did that Halloween night. He wouldn't try to kill Pettigrew, he would hand him over to the Ministry. He wouldn't go to Azkaban again for killing Pettigrew. Pettigrew would live, but only for a few days. Once Sirius was a free man, he would get his revenge on the traitor.

Sirius was a Black. And the name 'Black' would always hold weight in wizarding society. He would push for Pettigrew getting the Dementors' kiss. That would be the perfect death for Wormtail, he thought, his doggy face grinning menacingly. Pettigrew would get his traitorous soul sucked out by the very creatures who had tormented Sirius for the past ten years. And then Sirius would live the life he deserved-with his family. He would fulfill his promise to Jamie. He would get Harry and Acquila; the two people who were the sole reason for his existence.

As he finally reached the cave, he lay down happily. Now all he had to do was wait for Nyx.

...

Acquila woke up early the next morning; she couldn't wait to take Harry to the trophy room. Twenty minutes later, she went into the boys' dormitory, intending to wake Harry up.

But to her utter astonishment, she found Nyx there, hovering around Ron's bed as if the cat was looking for something.

"Nyx!" Acquila whispered, not wanting wake up Ron, which would lead to another argument about Nyx and Scabbers. The cat just stared at her sternly as if saying, 'Trust me, I'm doing the right thing.'

Acquila snorted and picked up the feline, who mewed softly to show her discontent.

She went back to her own dormitory and deposited Nyx in her basket.

"Don't you go there again, Nyx. I don't want another fight with Ron," she muttered to the part-kneazle, stroking the cat's black fur.

Five minutes later, Acquila went back to the boys' dormitory, pulling apart the hangings of the four-poster bed where Harry slept. She sat by his side, looking at Harry's peaceful face, his forehead covered by his messy hair.

"Harry?" she shook his shoulder a minute later, wanting to wake him up.

He just groaned and continued sleeping.

"Harry! Wake up! I have something to show you!"

He muttered something unintelligible, but then opened his eyes.

"Acquila! What's the matter? What are you doing here? Did something happen?" he screamed, grasping his glasses from the side-table and putting them on.

"Shhhh!" she said, not wanting his yells to wake up the other four sleeping boys.

"Don't yell! And what makes you think something happened? Can't I just come to say good morning?" she smirked.

"Well, when you're around, trouble generally isn't far behind. So I just assumed the worst," he replied, a sly smile forming on his face.

"Ha ha, Potter," she mock-glared at him. "Now get up. I've to show you something. Get ready and come down to the common room. I'll wait there for you."

He nodded as Acquila departed from his dormitory, wondering what she wanted to show him.

As Acquila went to the common room, she saw two identical faces winking at her.

"Up early today, Acquila?"

"Intending for some mischief, are you?" asked Fred.

"Not really. I'm waiting for Harry."

George wolf-whistled as Fred grinned slyly at her.

"Ah! Young love!"

"Hey! I don't love Harry! I mean I do... but not in that way... We're just eleven! And we're friends... not love-birds as you said that day..."

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much," smirked George.

"Aye!" responded Fred with a smirk of his own.

"Goodness! You two are impossible!" Acquila exclaimed, at the same time as Harry walked up behind them.

"Hey! What are you guys talking about?"

Acquila turned a bright shade of pink as Fred and George started laughing aloud.

"Come on, Harry," said Acquila, glaring at the twins as she pulled Harry towards the portrait door.

"Have fun, lovebirds!" the twins cried in unison.

"Umm... What was that?" asked Harry.

"Nothing... nothing... just ignore them," she replied.

"Where are we going?" he asked her.

"The trophy room."

"The trophy room? Why?" he exclaimed, remembering the last time they had gone to that room.

"I'll show you when we get there," she replied with a smile, though Harry could see the excited gleam in her eyes.

As they reached the room, Acquila opened the door and entered it, Harry following her. She shut the door behind them. The trophies kept in the room glimmered as the sunlight coming in through the window fell on them.

She pointed to the ancient-looking board on the wall where the names of previous head-boys and head-girls were engraved in golden letters.

"Umm? You wanted to show me this?" he asked, staring at Dumbledore's name on the board.

"No, silly," she giggled.

"Look at this," she said pointing to two names which were engraved on the board.

_**James Potter (1977-1978)**_

_**Lily Evans (1977-1978)**_

Harry stared at the two names, his eyes wide with surprise and longing.

Acquila said nothing, stepping backwards, allowing Harry to have a private moment with himself if he wanted to. But Harry seemed to have sensed her movement; he extended his hand backwards, moving it around till he finally found her hand and pulled her beside him. His eyes were on his parents' names all the while.

Acquila inclined her neck sideways, to look at Harry. And she saw him still staring at the names in wonder. He wasn't crying, but his green eyes were shining with emotion.

He finally raised the hand which wasn't holding Acquila's, moving his fingers over his father's name and then his mother's.

"You know, Acquila," he said softly after some minutes of silence. "My parents...," he paused, taking a deep breath.

"Hagrid told me how brave and well-loved my parents were, how they gave their lives to save mine. But... but somehow they were always like an abstract idea for me... I know they existed... But I had nothing to... no tangible link with them. But now, I can see them, know that they walked through this very school, patrolled the corridors together probably... Headboy and Headgirl... it reminds me that they were indeed living people... happy together..."

He said nothing, too overwhelmed with emotions to speak. But Acquila understood his feelings through his silence. Acquila too had thought herself to be an orphan. And she remembered how she felt when McGonagall and then Dora told her about her parents. Acquila at least had a photograph of her parents, and people who spoke to her about them.

But Harry didn't even know how his parents looked, didn't even have a photograph of theirs, nothing that would serve as a link to his parents. His parents' names engraved in golden words; it was probably the first real proof of their lives for Harry.

They stood there for some more time, and then Harry silently hugged Acquila. As they walked towards the Great Hall, Harry didn't even need to say thanks to Acquila, for he knew that she knew exactly how much he valued her gesture.

...

Acquila walked towards the corridor leading to McGongall's office after breakfast. She had told Harry of all that Dora had told her, but Harry too seemed to think that Acquila shouldn't dwell on Sirius's past, not have any hopes of his innocence.

"Come in, Ms. Black. I hope you are well now," said Professor McGonagall as she entered her office.

"Yes, Professor. I am fine now," Acquila smiled, sitting down on the chair opposite the deputy-headmistress.

"I think you know why I have called you here, don't you?"

"I am sorry, Professor," said Acquila, staring at her hands which were clasped on her lap. "It was my fault. I should have controlled my magic. I tried to do what you had taught me, I tried to stop the magic from…from flowing out of me against my will, but it just didn't…." she faltered.

McGonagall sighed.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened? And I do not want an explanation of why you were in the bathroom when you were supposed to be back in your dormitory, escorted by the prefects. Ms. Granger has already told me of how she wanted to face the troll all on her own and you accompanied her to dissuade her from going in search of the troll. I want you to tell me what happened that day, with regard to your magic."

Acquila took a deep breath and then said, "I tried to push Hermione out of the way of the troll, but it advanced towards us with no way for us to escape. And that was when I got really scared. And then I…I felt my magic spread from within me through my entire body. It wanted to…to lash out, to escape and hurt the troll. I knew it was an immense amount of magic wanting to be released; like it happens when I try to change the colour of the cups…I intend for only a small amount of magic, but the opposite happens and the cup explodes. It was something similar. And then Harry and Ron came in and I was scared that the troll would hurt Harry. And the magic was straining against me. I tried to…to control it, to calm down, but I couldn't. And then what happened was exactly what I expected- the room exploded. I could feel magic pouring out of me, lashing itself onto everything in the room; but I didn't want Harry, Ron and Hermione to get hurt. And so I tried to stop it… and then I saw the ceiling falling onto where Harry was standing, so I lunged at him to push him away from the spot…and…and I don't remember anything after that. When I woke up, I was in the Hospital wing…"

McGonagall just stared at Acquila, her mind whirring with thoughts.

"Can I ask you something, Professor?"

"Of course."

"How come such incidents never happened before I came to Hogwarts? When I lived at the Orphanage, I did do accidental magic, but nothing of such great magnitude. So why is this happening to me now, all of a sudden."

"Quite an insightful question, Ms. Black," said the older woman. "I cannot give you a definite reason for that; cases like yours are extremely rare. But I feel that since you have come to Hogwarts, you have been in situations which anger or scare you- like the incident with Mr. Malfoy for example. It got you angry, which was why your magic lashed out at the target of your anger. The same thing happened with the Troll. You were scared, so your magic tried to protect you by attacking the object which caused you fear. But since the power in the magic was immense, it hit out at everything which lay around you. Had you been thrust into such situations in the orphanage or at school?"

Acquila shook her head.

"No, Professor. Not really. The only situation I remember where I was scared was when Harry's cousin Dudley chased Harry and me, threatening to hurt us."

"And what happened then?"

"I hurt my ankle and I couldn't run. And the next moment, I found myself on the roof of the school building. Harry accidentally transported us there."

"I see. Now reasons for your outbursts apart, do you realise how not being in control of your magic can cause difficulties for not just you, but also the people around you?"

"Yes, Professor. I realise that; which is why I tried to tell Harry and Ron to run away before the room could explode."

"It's not just others, Ms. Black. Madam Pomfrey told me that you were severely exhausted physically. The amount of magic you used that day, led to a massive decrease in your energy levels. Even if you hadn't fainted due to the slab from the ceiling falling on your head, you would have fainted a few minutes later thanks to exhaustion."

Acquila nodded; her eyes wide. "I want to be able to control my magic, Professor. I don't want a repeat of that day."

"I understand. We will be having lessons three times a week- once in the morning when you have a free period and on Thursday and Tuesday evenings."

"Okay."

"We won't be doing any magic today. We will resume our lessons from the next time we meet. But I wish to ask you something, Ms. Black. Do you fear your magic?"

Acquila hesitated, and then replied, "I think I do, Professor. I am scared that I will hurt people…"

"Fearing your magic will do you no good. You need to get over the fear. Magic as powerful as yours, is a gift which very few witches and wizards are blessed with, Ms. Black. You need to control your magic, not let the magic control you. And you will be able to do so, only when you let go of the fear. Currently, when you think of your magic, you see it as something as separate from you, don't you? The day you become one with your magic is the day it will follow your will. You need to embrace your inner magic, Acquila. You need to reach out to it, without fear and try to be one with it. I know this may sound strange to you; you are just eleven years of age, you might not grasp what I am saying. But I am here to help you, Ms. Black. We will work together on this, Acquila. And I give you my word that I will do my best to guide you. Now go off for your Potions class, before Professor Snape deducts points from Gryffindor. And do think over what I told you."

"Thank you, Professor," said Acquila walking out of the office; not seeing the worry on McGonagall's face.

...

"What aren't you telling me about Acquila, Albus?" McGonagall demanded. She stood opposite Dumbledore in his office.

"What do you wish to know, Minerva?"

"There is something different about the girl, isn't there? I am no fool, Albus. I have seen the girl's magic. There is something more to her magic, than just power. And I know that you know what it is. And she asked me a very intriguing question today," she said.

As Dumbledore looked questioningly at her, McGonagall continued, "She wished to know why she never performed magic of such magnitude before she came to Hogwarts. I told her that it's because she never faced dangerous situations like she has since she has entered school, which never gave her a reason to perform magic. But both you and I know, that it isn't the only reason."

Dumbledore kept silent, but as McGonagall's eyes bored sternly into his, he finally decided to tell her.

"You have heard about magical bonds, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have. Like the one between the Flamels?"

"Yes. Acquila too, has a magical bond with..."

"Harry Potter," McGonagall said dryly.

"Yes. With Harry," confirmed Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "But how did you guess that, Minerva?"

"Why else would you ensure that Harry and Acquila would end up at the same Muggle school since the age of eight? Why else would you take such a keen interest in the girl? It isn't tough to read between the lines," replied McGonagall.

"The bond is one of the reasons why Acquila's magic has gained more power since she has come to Hogwarts. The first reason is the amount of magical energy she is subjected to, in the castle. In her orphanage, she was hardly ever in contact with magic, but here at Hogwarts, magic is in the very air we breathe. Which is why her inner magic is blossoming and empowering since she has set foot in the castle."

"And the other reason?"

"Her close proximity to Harry. They spend almost all their time together, don't they? I feel, that it is helping to strengthen the bond between them, which is somehow having a great effect on Acquila's magic."

"And when are you going to tell them both about the bond?"

"Never."

"Never?" gasped McGonagall.

"I am not going to tell them, Minerva. It's up to them to discover it."

"Albus! You can't keep it a secret from them!"

"It is not for me to tell them, Minerva. It is up to them to discover it. And they are just eleven. Telling them of the bond now will do them no good."

"But they have a right to know! If not now, then in the future!"

"What do you think will happen if I tell them about the bond, Minerva? They will feel obliged to be with each other because of the bond. For the bond to blossom, they need to discover their love for each other on their own. The bond should not force them to love each other or be with each other. Their love should come from within, which in turn would strengthen the bond."

"And what if they fall for other people? They are kids, Albus. They will be teenagers in a couple of years. You cannot expect them to just have eyes for each other. They might fall for someone else."

"We will cross the bridge when we come to it, Minerva. But you need to understand. Voldemort," he said as McGonagall flinched, "is going to rise again. If not now, then in the near future. And Harry is going to play an important role."

"But..."

"It is the truth, Minerva. The wizarding world is currently living in the time of peace between two wars. And it is up to me to ensure that things go as they should. I know, you might think me manipulative; but I have to make certain that everything that needs to be done for Voldemort to be defeated is in place."

"They are just kids, Albus. Especially Harry. It isn't fair," she said softly.

"It is his destiny, Minerva. And if all goes well, with Acquila by his side, he will end Voldemort once and for all."

...

Remus Lupin tiredly entered the rickety old room in the place the owners called a lodge. As he sunk onto the bed, he suddenly heard a noise coming from the wall behind him.

"Squeak!"

The next moment, a blue jet of light shot out of his wand and hit the rat. The rat squeaked louder in fear and ran into the hole in the wall.

Remus groaned in annoyance and irritation. He was going mad. Totally mad. He saw rats everywhere. Even his dreams were invaded by rats. How was he even supposed to find Peter? There were millions of rats in Britain. And if Peter was indeed hiding in his rat form, finding him would be impossible.

What was Dumbledore thinking sending Remus to look for Peter? But then Remus sighed. Of course! Dumbledore did not know about Peter's Animagus form. He had sent Remus to look for a man, not a bloody rat. No wonder, Albus was confident of Remus locating Peter. He wouldn't have been as confident if he knew Peter could turn into a rat. Maybe it was high time he told Albus of the ability of three of the Marauders to turn into animals. He would dwell on that later, though.

Currently, he had other problems to deal with. His finances, for example. He had saved quite a lot of money in Ireland. Living a hermit's life with no friends and no social life definitely helped a person's finances. But he knew that he wouldn't get a job here, Fudge and his anti-werewolf laws had made it as good as impossible for him to get a job here. And a job in the muggle world wasn't possible till the Sirius-Peter issue was solved. He wouldn't leave the wizarding world till Sirius was declared innocent, if he was indeed innocent. Plus searching for Sirius and then Peter had become a full-time, without-pay job for him. He needed to live frugally, save money for the future. He spent a chunk of his savings on the rent for his childhood home. He had still kept the house, the basement was the best place for him to transform like he did in childhood, plus there were many memories of his parents associated with the house. But with rent rates rising, retaining the house would be difficult. It was to control his expenses that he was staying in the cheap, rickety lodge. He wondered where his life was headed. Love-less, no family, no friends; no hopes of having his own family, because which sane girl would want a werewolf as her partner? Remus sighed again. At times like these, he wondered why he lived. Since the time he got bitten by Greyback as a child, his life had taken a turn for the worse. His parents spent most of their time and money looking for a cure for his affliction and then passed away leaving him all alone. His friends too were were as good as non-existent. Three dead- including Lily and Athena, one an escaped criminal, and one a legally-dead-supposedly-alive-possibly-traitorous rat. And the two children he loved didn't even know how much they meant to him.

He got up from the bed and walked to the tap, splashing water on his face. Brooding would do him no good. He would find Peter. He would have to find Peter, no matter what. Acquila and Harry deserved to know the truth behind their parents' deaths and Sirius' possible innocence. He lay down on the bed again, preparing to sleep. Tomorrow he would start the search for Peter afresh. He shut his eyes, but then opened them again and looked at the ceiling and sent a quick prayer to the powers above, pleading for his dreams to be rat-free.

...

As the days passed by, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaver-skin boots.

Acquila continued going to Professor McGonagall for lessons and gradually started improving at controlling her magic. Nymphadora hardly got any time to spend with Acquila and Harry; she was always busy studying for her NEWTS. But Draco and Acquila became better friends than ever before, much to Draco's delight. Of course, Acquila spent a lot of time with her fellow Gryffindors, but she always took time out for Draco. But in the past few days all they both could talk of was the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Draco desperately wanted to see Gryffindor lose, especially because all Acquila would talk about was of Harry's flying skills.

Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship.

Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had wanted Harry to be a secret weapon. But as Draco knew that Harry would be playing, the news had gradually leaked out.

The day before Harry's first Quidditch match, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Acquila were out in the freezing courtyard during the break. Hermione had managed to conjure up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar, similar to the one Nymphadora had conjured in the Trophy room.

The four of them were standing with their backs to the fire, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping. The four of them moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway. He turned to Harry and asked, "What's that you've got there, Potter?" pointing to the book in Harry's hand.

Harry showed him the book. It was 'Quidditch through the Ages'.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."

As Acquila was about to retort, Hermione stepped onto her foot, not wanting Gryffindor to lose more points. But Snape seemed to have noticed Acquila being about to speak.

"Anything you wish to say, Black?" he asked her harshly.

"No, Professor," she said, looking up at Snape, expecting to see his black eyes glinting with anger. But she gasped involuntarily on seeing the professor looking at her with not rage, but with a strange expression on his face. Something which seemed like guilt flickered momentarily in his eyes; till it was replaced by a steely nothingness. He turned around and walked back to the castle, his robes billowing.

"He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"

"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.

"That's a very rude thing to say Ron," said Hermione.

"Hermione is right, Ron," said Acquila. "Anyway I have to go for my class with Professor McGonagall, see you guys later."

Acquila got up and left leaving Harry thinking about Snape's leg. But Acquila's thoughts were centered on Snape's weird behavior. Why was he looking at her with that strange expression?

...

When Acquila returned to the Gryffindor common room she found Harry, Ron and Hermione deep in discussion.

"What are you discussing? Planning a prank like the twins?" Acquila asked.

"No no! You won't believe what I saw!" Harry said.

"What?"

"I went to the staffroom to get back my Quidditch through the ages from Snape and I saw him holding his robes above his knees. One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages." Harry said.

"Oh my! That's bad! How did he get hurt?" Acquila asked.

"Don't feel bad for him, Acquila. He was telling Filch that he was bitten by the three-headed dog."

"What?" exclaimed Acquila. "What was he doing there?"

"I bet he was trying to enter the trap door to steal the package which is hidden there."

"Yeah!" said Ron. "We think he tried to get past that dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him! He's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my chess set he let that troll in, to make a diversion!"

Acquila's eyes were wide. "No! He wouldn't!"

"Exactly what I told these two," Hermione said dryly. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."

"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something?" snapped Ron. "I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"

"I don't think a teacher would do this, Harry," Acquila tried to reason with the boys.

"I'm sure it's him." Harry said.

"Harry is right," said Ron indignantly.

"No, Ronald!" snapped Hermione.

"Oh come on, Herm…"

"Enough, guys!" Acquila interrupted Ron before he and Hermione could break out into a full-blown argument.

After a short discussion about the match, Hermione went off to her dormitory bidding them all good night.

"Up for a game of chess, Acquila?" Ron asked Acquila.

"Why not, Ron? I'm sure I'll beat you at it today," she smirked, the memory of her last defeat still fresh in her mind.

Ron had been teaching her chess since the past few days and by his own admission she was becoming better and better at it.

As they both started the game, bantering playfully; Harry's eyes were glued to Acquila's face, his eyes alight at seeing her enjoying the game.

"Harry, why don't you go off to sleep? You'll need to be well-rested before the match tomorrow."

Harry nodded and left after bidding the two of them good night, his face sporting a wide grin. He now knew what to get Acquila for Christmas!

The next morning dawned bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.

"You've got to eat some breakfast, Harry" Acquila said.

"I don't want anything"

"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.

"I'm not hungry," said Harry, getting more and more nervous.

"Harry, you need your strength," said Ron. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."

"Thanks Ron," Harry said sarcastically as Acquila and Hermione glared at Ron.

"What!? Its true!" Ron said, defending himself.

By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.

Acquila, Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean up in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. It said 'Potter for President', and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors. Acquila showed her support by cheering the loudest.

After a while Acquila saw both the teams walking onto the grounds and towards Madam Hooch the match refree. She saw Harry look in their direction at the banner and smile. She smiled back at him encouragingly, cheering for him loudly with the other first-year Gryffindors.

Both the teams clambered onto their brooms. Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.

Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor - what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too -"

Lee Jordon, the Weasley twins' friend was the commentator for the match.

Acquila tried to keep up with the game and the commentary but it was difficult for her as the team players were flying too fast. Finally, just as she was starting to understand the game, Gryffindor scored their first goal. Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins. She saw Harry do loops with his broom to join the cheering crowd.

"Budge up there, move along," she heard a voice say.

"Hagrid!" she exclaimed happily.

Acquila, Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.

"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"

"Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."

"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Harry.

"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the -wait a moment - was that the Snitch?"

A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.

Acquila finally spotted the snitch and she saw Harry and the Slytherin seeker chasing towards it.

"Come on, Harry!", she cheered.

It was obvious that Harry was much faster and quicker than the Slytherin seeker and Acquila was sure Harry would catch it. But just then, Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Captain came in his way purposely blocking him.

A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors - and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.

"Foul!" Acquila screamed along with the Gryffindors.

Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.

Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"

"Yeah!" Acquila said, "He did it purposely!"

"What are you both talking about?" said Ron.

"Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"

"But this isn't soccer" Ron reminded them.

Hagrid, however, was on Acquila and Dean's side.

"They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air.

Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides.

"After that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating, Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinner, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

A few minutes later, as Acquila was watching Alicia Spinnet aiming for the goalpost, she suddenly had a nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen to Harry. Just as she was about to tell that Hermione, Hagrid mumbled, "Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing,"

He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom... but he can't have..."

Acquila grabbed the binoculars from Hagrid and zoomed at Harry.

"Oh God! It seems like his broom is trying to throw him off. He needs help or he'll fall down," She exclaimed worriedly, still staring at Harry, afraid to take her eyes off him.

And then, she felt fear coursing through her entire body, she felt her magic strengthening within her. She dropped the binoculars, sitting down again, trying to do what McGonagall had taught her to. She took deep breaths, trying to reach out to the magic surging within, trying to bend it to her will. But as she took one more look at Harry, who was clinging to the broom for dear life, she felt the fear turn to extreme panic.

Perhaps, it would be better if she would just let the magic do what it wanted to, let it steady Harry's broom. But then she remembered the incident in the girls' bathroom. She couldn't risk Harry's broom explode and let him plummet to the ground.

Meanwhile, Hermione had grabbed the binoculars which Acquila had dropped and seemed to be looking at the stand where the teachers sat. Hermione looked sideways at Acquila to tell her what she saw, when she saw Acquila's face carrying the most panicked expression Hermione had ever seen.

"Hermione, I think I'm going to burst," Acquila muttered through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"My magic..." she gasped, "can't control it... Harry..."

"Acquila!" she exclaimed realising what the girl was trying to say. "You have to control your magic! I just saw Snape muttering under his breath looking constantly at Harry. He's doing something - jinxing the broom. I'll take care of it. You take care of your magic," Hermione said quickly and disappeared under the benches.

"Bloody Hell! He's dangling on only one arm now," Ron said looking scared and turning red. "Hermione do something soon," he muttered.

The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good - every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.

Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.

But Acquila was oblivious to it all, she had her eyes tightly shut, not even listening to the sounds around her. All she could sense, was the power within her. It tried to escape from her body, lash out. But finally, with the most effort she had ever put into anything, she finally felt her magic bending to her will. Of course, it did try to shake her off, wanting to save Harry; but she finally took over the power, subduing it, making it agree with her. And then finally, the magic ceased to surge, and she knew that it had finally become one with her.

...

A few minutes earlier,

On the other side of the pitch, a huge black dog was hiding behind the thick bushes and watching the match. Sirius' eyes were fixed on Harry, amazed at how he seemed to have inherited James' flying skills. Harry's flying seemed just as smooth, just as skilled as James' flying was. Of course, the positions they played were different. But if Harry continued flying this way, Sirius knew Quidditch teams would be jostling to sign him once he turned seventeen; just as they had approached James, who had refused as he knew that being an Auror and saving lives was more important than playing a game.

As Sirius was lost in his thoughts, thinking of the man whom he loved like a brother, he suddenly saw Harry's broom start to vibrate. Harry seemed to have lost control of the broom. One look at the jerking and twitching broom, and Sirius recognised the curse.

He remembered his father, Orion teaching the curse and its counter-curse to Regulus and him when they were just kids. It was advance dark magic.

That very next moment, without giving a single thought to the danger the Dementors around him would pose, he transformed into a man. He hesitated for a moment, not having performed any magic since years, except for the Patronus sent with the wand Nyx had brought him. But he shook off his hesitation and maintaining steady eye contact with Harry and his broom, he started muttering the counter-curse; unmindful of the Dementors which were gliding towards him.

...

Meanwhile, Severus Snape continued maintaining eye contact with Harry's broom, but then suddenly, he felt another flow of magic acting on the broom; magic which was doing just what Severus was trying to do- stop the effect of the curse on the Nimbus. As he continued muttering the spell, his mind was full of thoughts, wondering who else was trying to help Potter, who else knew a dark spell of such intensity.

...

Having finally subdued her magic,Acquila, took the binoculars and looked in the direction of the teachers' stand to see if she could spot Hermione; worried about Harry still flailing in mid-air. While scanning the stand, she came upon Professor Quirrell. He was staring at Harry with concentration and was muttering continuously, just like Hermione had said Snape was doing. Suddenly, she saw Quirrell topple from his seat and a flash of bushy brown hair run past behind him towards Snape. And then the crowd started cheering loudly and Acquila saw that Harry had managed to climb back onto his broom.

"Neville, you can look!" Ron said from beside her. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes.

And Acquila heaved a massive sigh of relief, shouting out Harry's name with the others.

...

Meanwhile, Sirius had continued casting the counter-curse, recognising another source of magic working with him to negate the effects of the dark curse; when a sudden cold starting creeping towards him, and he started shivering uncontrollably, remembering all the bad memories which had plagued his life. It was the Dementors. But with a supreme effort, he tried to ignore the memories, ignore the cold and concentrate solely on the spell he was casting. The Dementors glided up to him, but he did not transform into the dog; he wouldn't transform till Harry was safe. He had promised James that he would keep his son safe, and he had to keep up that promise, even if he lost his own soul in the process. The Dementors finally reached him, one of them extending its hand to clasp his face, when he finally felt the curse recede, and saw Harry get onto his broom. And then with a supreme effort from his exhausted body, he transformed into the dog, just before the Dementor could touch him. He fell into a faint, not noticing the Dementors looking around for him and then gradually gliding away.

...

Acquila saw Harry speeding toward the ground and then clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick. He hit the field on all fours, coughed and something gold fell into his hand. It was the snitch! He held it up in his hands and the crowd cheered. Acquila immediately ran down to the pitch, trying to make her way through the crowd to Harry.

"Make way for the lady!" yelled Fred and George together and she tried to force her way through the Gryffindor team.

"Acquila!" exclaimed Harry as she rushed towards him, hugging him tightly and said, "Don't you scare me like that again, Harry," not wanting to let go off him.

He hugged her in return, assuring her that he was alright, till she finally disentangled herself from his embrace, allowing Ron and Hermione who had reached the team, to congratulate him.

...

Few minutes and a hundred pats later Harry was being made a hot cup of tea by Hagrid.

"It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."

"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

"It wasn't Snape," Acquila put in, "After Hermione left I saw Quirrell looking at Harry and muttering under his breath."

"Quirrell!" Hagrid snorted, "Scared of his own shadow, 'at man is."

"Yeah!" said Ron. "He stutters even while talking to students."

"It can't be Quirrell, Acquila. It has to be Snape. He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. He is the one who wants to steal the package it's hiding."

Hagrid dropped the teapot.

"How d'yeh know about Fluffy?" he said.

"Fluffy?" Acquila asked.

"Yeah - he's mine - bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year - I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the..." Hagrid stopped midway through his sentence.

"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to steal it!" Ron said.

"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione.

"I'm telling you it wasn't Snape, it was Quirrell," Acquila said indignantly.

"It was Snape! Harry got back on the broom after I put his robes on fire."

"No. He got back on the broom after you knocked down Quirrell!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, both of yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Quirrell and Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all four of yeh - yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel-"

"Aha!" exclaimed Harry happily, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid looked furious with himself.

"Tell us about him; Nicolas Flamel," Acquila said, getting curious.

"I'm not tellin' yeh anything more. Now off yer go," he said, gesturing them to leave.

While walking back, the four of them started talking about Hagrid's revelation.

"Who is this Nicolas Flamel?" Ron asked

"I think I've read about him somewhere," Aquila said, deep in thought.

"Yeah! I think so too!" said Harry.

"I'll go to the library. There will definitely be something about him there," Hermione put in.

They trotted back towards the castle, Hermione and Acquila still arguing about Snape and Quirrel. Just as they reached the castle gates, Acquila suddenly cried, "I remembered where I've read it! He was mentioned on the chocolate frog card about Dumbledore, which Harry had got on the Hogwarts Express."

"Oh yes!" Harry exclaimed.

"What was written about Flamel?" Hermione asked, inquisitively.

"He is great friends with Dumbledore and they used to work together on alchemy!" Acquila said.

"We'll know more about him from the library," Hermione said excitedly.

"Yeah! And we'll get an idea as to what Fluffy might be guarding." Harry said, wondering what was so valuable that Dumbledore had to keep a three-headed dog in a school full of students to guard it.

...

As the dog dragged himself towards the hills of Hogsmeade, completely exhausted of energy, he heard the soft sound of paws trotting behind him.

"Bow," he barked softly, hardly able to gather energy to bark louder.

Nyx came up to him, laying down a packet at his paws. She nudged the packet with her paws, opening it and dragging its contents out of it.

Sirius' eyes flew wide open. The packet contained bars of chocolate.

He greedily gulped down the chocolate, all the while wondering where the feline got her immense intelligence from; wondering how she almost always knew what he needed, whether it was chocolate or just someone to listen to his inner thoughts. He felt warmth spread through his canine limbs, finally nullifying the Dementors' effects.

As they trotted towards the cave together, Sirius' ears perked up at what the cat was trying to tell him through her mewings. The Dementors had known it was him. And there was every possibility of them conveying it to Fudge. Sirius would be better off living away from Hogwarts and Hogsmeade for some days.

He whined sadly, not liking the thought of being away from his children, especially after he had seen Harry in danger of getting injured today.

But a few minutes later, his mind was made up. He would leave Hogwarts for some days and live in some Muggle locality. And he would come back in time for Christmas.

He gave the feline a pat on her head with his muzzle, letting her know he would see her soon. She mewed softly, assuring him that she would try her best to capture the rat and take care of Harry and Acquila as well as she could and then turned and walked away, disappearing in the darkness till Sirius could see her no more.

...

Severus Snape ascended the spiral staircase leading to the Headmaster's office; his normally impassive face seemed enraged. He pushed open the door to Dumbledore's office and walked in, not bothering to knock. Dumbledore always knew who was at the door; and if he had not wanted to see Severus, the door wouldn't even have opened when he pushed it.

"Ah! Severus!" Dumbledore exclaimed, gesturing towards the seat opposite his.

"What brings you here?"

"I think you very well know what brings me here. I'm sure the deputy headmistress had you updated an hour ago when you returned to the Castle, on the latest spot of trouble Potter got into," he said looking straight into his twinkling blue eyes.

"Oh yes. I did hear of it. Though I hope you aren't blaming Harry for what happened."

"I am not blaming Potter for the incident. The boy is asinine, but not fool enough to harm himself. It was an extremely dark curse which was cast on the broomstick; a curse which a dunderhead like Potter who excels only at strutting around the school would never have been able to cast."

"Aren't you too hard on the boy? He is just eleven, Severus. And I have never seen him strutting around," Dumbledore smiled.

"He does. He is just like his fool of a father. Messed up hair, flying skills, an incorrigible tendency for creating trouble..." Snape muttered scornfully.

"Give the boy a chance, Severus. He may look a lot like James, but I feel his nature is more like Lily's," Dumbledore said, noticing the look of pain which flitted momentarily on Severus' face on hearing Lily's name before he schooled his features into his usual expressionless mask.

"I did try to give him a chance," Snape said.

"You did?" said Albus, raising an eyebrow.

"I heard Black's daughter one night, speaking to the Malfoy boy..." he said grudgingly, not wanting to divulge what exactly he had heard, not wanting to admit the thoughts which plagued his mind for days on end.

"But I can't. He is too much like his father for me to view him with anything but disdain. But that is beside the point," he said, making it clear that he did not wish to talk of that topic. "Something is wrong, Albus. Nobody but a wizard or witch deeply acquainted with dark magic would have been able to cast that curse on the broomstick. It was a curse cast through eye-contact and not a wand. How many wizards and witches can do that?"

"Whom do you have your suspicions on?"

"Quirrel," Severus stated.

Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"Keep a watch on him, Severus."

Snape's eyes looked into Dumbledore's, wordlessly agreeing to what Dumbledore told him.

Dumbledore's gaze held Severus' for several minutes, till Snape snorted and said, "Care to ask me what you are wanting to ask, Albus? Or should I use legillimency; not that it will pass through your mental occlumency wards..." he snorted again.

Dumbledore chuckled, "So you do possess a tiny hint of humour, Severus!"

Snape said nothing, waiting for Dumbledore to say what he wanted to.

"Had you ever seen Sirius at a death-eater meeting? Ever heard of him working for Voldemort?"

Snape flinched slightly at the mention of the Dark Lord's name.

"Why do you ask, Albus?"

"There is a possibility of him being innocent of the crimes he was imprisoned for."

"Are you saying that he did not betray Lily and Potter?" he asked, his black eyes glowering.

"Yes."

Snape stood and began pacing around the room.

"How could the thought of that traitor being innocent even cross your mind?" he said, his voice unnaturally loud.

"Ah! A Slytherin yelling at the great Albus Dumbledore!" said a snide voice from a portrait on the wall.

But the two men paid him no heed as Severus continued angrily.

"Lily died! She died because of Black! And you say he might be innocent! He was the secret-keeper. He betrayed Lily! Or she would still have been alive today," he said, the last line coming in a strained voice.

"I have enough reason to believe that Sirius is innocent," Dumbledore said pointedly, proceeding to explain all that made him certain of Sirius not being guilty.

"So you think Black isn't guilty just based on what his daughter says? You trust his daughter over all the proof of Black's guilt?" Snape thundered.

"What proof, Severus? Sirius did not even get a trial. I doubt he was the secret-keeper. And give me one reason for why he would kill James. You know how deep their friendship was."

"And what reason did Pettigrew have?" spat Snape. "You are assuming that Black isn't guilty only based on his daughter's words. Don't you remember what Black did? Don't you remember how he tried to get me killed? He sent me to the werewolf! He wanted me dead! And when Black wanted to get a fellow student killed when wasn't even sixteen years of age, you think he would have thought twice about killing Lily at twenty-one?" he bellowed.

Dumbledore stared silently at Snape for a moment, surprised at his unusual display of emotion.

"Black killed Lily! He tried to kill me! And you say he's innocent!"

"Sit down, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly, but his voice was filled with such authority and power, that Snape stopped pacing. He glanced at the Headmaster and then sat down reluctantly.

"If you want to overlook a man's innocence for issues which have long passed by, and mistakes which he committed in his youth; then you need to change your mindset, Severus. Stop holding grudges. And Sirius did not mean to get you killed the night he sent you to the Shrieking Shack. It was an impulsive, immature decision on his part which he repented as he grew up. And don't you recollect that James Potter, whom you deeply detest was the one who saved your life, putting his own life in great peril?

Snape's eyes glinted angrily.

"How can I forget that, Albus?" he said through gritted teeth.

"The great James Potter did save me, but only to save his and his foolish friends' hides. And to keep the werewolf's secret intact. And I have repaid the life-debt I owed him by saving his brat's life today," he spat. "And even if I put that episode aside, hadn't you yourself said that Sirius was the secret-keeper? He betrayed Lily! He is responsible for her death!"

"Haven't I given you enough reasons to absolve Sirius of all guilt? To prove that he almost certainly wasn't the secret-keeper? And if you blame him for Lily's death despite him not even being responsible for it, I think a greater blame lies with you, Severus for relaying the prophecy to Voldemort which ultimately led to Lily dying," said Dumbledore softly, knowing Snape would have nothing to say to that. Albus hadn't wanted to mention the prophecy, knowing it to be a sore point with Snape. But he also knew that this was the only way to make Severus see reason.

Snape remained silent, his face contorted in pain. He then looked down, his curtain of black greasy hair hiding his face from the headmaster.

"You have made your point, Albus," he said after an extremely long moment of silence. He looked up at Dumbledore, his eyes full of remorse. "What do you want to know?"

"Had you ever seen Sirius at a death-eater meeting?"

"No. I hadn't," he said reluctantly.

"Pettigrew?"

"No. I knew that a spy was working for the Dark Lord within the Order of the Phoenix. But I did not know of his identity. Only those followers of the Dark Lord who were higher up in the Death-Eater hierarchy than me knew of him- like Malfoy and Bellatrix."

Dumbledore sighed.

"Tell me truthfully, Severus. Did you ever think Sirius capable of doing what he was accused of?"

Snape stared at a spot on the wall behind Dumbledore, and then, as if even uttering the words caused him physical pain, he said in almost a whisper, "No. Never."

"Thank you, Severus," said Albus softly, "Now may I know the exact reason for why you came in fuming? Why do I feel that it was because I failed to protect Harry? Is that why you saved Harry? Because you did not wish to see him hurt?" he asked him shrewdly.

"The only reason for me saving Potter was due to the debt I owed his father, as I already told you. I do not, as you are trying to imply, care for the boy. He is Potter's son," he said contemptuously.

"He is Lily's son as well, Severus," said Dumbledore slyly.

"If you are done with trying to insinuate that I possess emotions which I never will for Potter's brat, can I tell you something far more important than your implications?"

Dumbledore nodded, mentally chuckling at how Severus always evaded the topic of him caring for Harry.

"There was someone else who was trying to stop the curse," said Snape, smirking to himself as Dumbledore finally centered his entire attention away from Potter and his spawn, to what Snape was saying,

Dumbledore looked questioningly at Snape, wanting him to continue.

"I felt a magic different from my own, working on negating the effects of the curse. And it definitely wasn't a student or a teacher, because the counter-curse would only be known by someone adept at Dark Magic."

Dumbledore nodded, deep in thought.

"Thank you for informing me of this, Severus," he said finally.

"Is that all you will say on this? You won't tell me who you think cast the counter-curse?" Snape glared at Dumbledore.

"I will tell you; but after I am sure of it myself. Now proceed for dinner, Severus. I will follow shortly. And remember to keep a watch on Quirrel."

Snape left, inwardly furious with Dumbledore and his secretive nature.

But Albus did not go to the Great Hall for dinner. He kept pondering over all that Severus had told him.

He knew that both, the casters of the curse and the counter-curse had to be proficient in dark magic. The curse was almost certainly cast by Quirrel. But what about the counter-curse which aided Snape in saving Harry? Who cast that?

He knew it wasn't Acquila and her magic. McGonagall had informed him of Acquila's happiness at finally being able to control her magic. And he knew that none of the other teachers and students would know the spell to counter the one cast on the broom. Unless...unless Sirius was somewhere around, trying to save his Godson. Having grown up with Walburga and Orion for parents, Sirius would obviously have known that particular curse. So, had Sirius indeed come back to Hogwarts again?

...

"Acquila!" Draco called out to her as she walked into the Great Hall with Harry, Hermione and Ron. Acquila and Harry had got a letter from Andromeda and Ted the previous night, inviting them both to spend Christmas with the Tonks. And the two Gryffindors were extremely excited to spend their first Christmas with a real family.

"Hi, Draco," she said, smiling warmly at him.

Seeing Harry and Ron bristling at his presence, the blonde-haired boy purposely went up to his cousin and hugged her, kissing her cheek.

"Can I talk to you, Acquila? Alone," he said, looking pointedly at Ron who had been glaring fiercely at him since he hugged Acquila.

"Sure, Draco," she replied, grinning at him, happy to see him in such a jovial mood.

"Come on then," he said linking her arm with his as he had seen his father and mother do at social events. As Acquila chatted with him about a Charms book she had read, he turned behind and smirked triumphantly at Harry and Ron, happy at having annoyed them.

They walked towards the Great Lake, talking on various topics.

"What do you want for Christmas?" he asked her suddenly.

"You don't have to give me anything, Draco," she replied.

"How can I not give you anything? It will be our first Christmas together at the Manor!" he exclaimed happily.

"Umm... Draco, I'm going to Dora's place for Christmas."

He let go of her hand the moment he heard her.

"You're going to the blood... to Nymphadora's house? You won't come to the Manor with me?" he asked her gruffly.

"No. I won't. I want to spend Christmas with Aunt Andy and Dora," she said in a small voice, hoping Draco would understand.

"And is Potter going with you too?" he asked her bitterly.

"Yes, he is. Dora invited him as well."

Draco suddenly seized her arm, grasping it tightly.

"You can't do that, Acquila. Why do you keep choosing Potter over me? Why do you keep choosing Nymphadora over me? Do I mean nothing to you? Why, Acquila?"

"No, Draco! You misunderstand me! Of course, I do care for you. And I'm not putting Dora before you. She's my cousin as well. And...and I don't want to come to your Manor, Draco, with your dad there," she said gently, freeing her arm from his grip.

"So what if he's there! You don't know how much I was looking forward to spending Christmas with you. And now you say you aren't coming! So you won't come for the ball as well? Mother has kept the ball in your honour. You can't not come!" he shouted at her.

"Draco," she sighed. "Please understand. I don't want to go to your house," she said, taking his hand in her own.

He snatched his hand back from hers. "Then I don't ever want to talk to you, Acquila. Go enjoy Christmas with Potter and the blood-traitors," he said scornfully and walked away, paying no heed to her repeated calls asking for him to listen to her. Nor did he notice the sudden grief in her eyes which replaced the happiness which shone in them just a few minutes ago.

...

Narcissa Malfoy sat in her room, reading through a long parchment containing a list of things to be purchased for the ball to be held at the Manor. Of course, she could have left all the preparations for the ball to Dobby, but she had learnt one important thing from her mother, Druella- a perfect hostess would always personally take charge of event she was hosting, if she wanted the event to be talked about by the guests for days on end.

And this was one event where Narcissa _had _to ensure that the ball would be the talk of the magical world; the one event which she wanted to make an unforgettable one for all those who had the privilege of attending it. It would be the day she would introduce her niece to all of pure-blood Britain as the Heiress of the Houses of Black and Gamp.

Since the early ages, there were major social events which would be arranged for the daughters of pure-blood families. One was when the girl turned eleven. She would be introduced to one and all as a daughter of her House. The other was when the girl was deemed to be of marriageable age. Her parents would throw a majestic ball in her honour, where prospective grooms from respectable wizarding families would see the girl to determine whether she was worthy of being chosen to marry into their families. Of course, certain girls were betrothed to wizards since after their birth; but even for those girls, the coming-of-age ball was a must.

Narcissa was sure that the guests would love Acquila. As Narcissa thought of the day of the hearing at the Ministry, she remembered the scathing, but dignified manner in which Acquila had stated her displeasure, and her reluctance to stay with the Malfoys. The girl seemed to be wise beyond her years, and she had a way with words which very few children her age did. And Acquila was genuinely beautiful; with her classic Black features, her long black hair, and her grey eyes which were so expressive.

Bellatrix was always considered to be the most beautiful daughter of the Black family. But Narcissa had to grudgingly admit, Acquila was far prettier than Bella was at her age. Bellatrix _was_ beautiful, but her beauty could never hide the evil which always lurked in her black eyes. But with Acquila, there was a certain charm which she manifested; anyone who saw her would have a smile on their face. Her eyes seemed so affectionate, so accepting. Narcissa thought that Acquila's beauty was probably all the more enhanced because she was a beautiful person from within. Draco's letters which always full of praise for Acquila were testimony to that.

She sighed as she thought of her niece. Narcissa had always wanted a daughter. Of course, she was glad to have Draco. On giving birth to Draco, she had fulfilled one of the main duties of a wife by ensuring that the Malfoy line had an heir. But she wanted a daughter as well. A little girl to love and nurture, to spoil and pamper, to dress up in the finest of dresses and robes, to throw balls for; a little girl who would love her mother unconditionally, who would be not just a daughter to Narcissa but a friend as well. However, despite their best efforts, conceiving another child after Draco hadn't been possible for Lucius and her.

But now, after acquiring Acquila's guardianship, Narcissa wondered whether she could quench her decade-old thirst for a daughter through the Black Heiress. Acquila was everything a mother could want in a daughter- wise, caring, level-headed and loving. But then she shook away the thought. She could never love Acquila as her own child. Acquila was the spawn of two blood traitors; the daughter of the man who rebelled against the very ideals which their family had stood for since centuries. The girl would never be a daughter to Narcissa.

But on the other hand, Acquila was new to the magical world, someone who could be moulded as Narcissa wished. In addition to this, the girl would one day marry Draco and become the lady of Malfoy Manor. Narcissa would probably never be able to love the girl, but she would ensure that Acquila got the best of everything.

But nevertheless, a tiny hope flickered in the very depths of her mind which Narcissa tried to subdue- maybe someday, Acquila would indeed become the daughter Narcissa always wanted.

"Dobby bring what mistress tell him to!" a breathless voice brought her out of her thoughts.

She nodded curtly to the elf and he placed the heavy closet he was carrying on the floor. After another nod, the elf disappeared.

Narcissa stood up and walked towards the closet, opening the door. She took out the only thing which lay in the closet- a gown which lay within its wrapper. Un-wrapping it, she laid down the garment on her bed, staring at it. The gown had been in the Black family since centuries; an heirloom. It was to be worn only by the eldest daughter of the House.

Her mind was off to a faraway day in the past. Narcissa remembered the evening when Bellatrix had her first ball. Of course, Andromeda and Narcissa hadn't been allowed to attend the ball, having not yet turned eleven, but they had looked at the proceedings, hiding behind a pillar in the balcony which stood above the ballroom. She remembered seeing Bellatrix walking down the stairs in this very gown. The eyes of all those below fixed on her. Bella looked far older than her age as she descended the staircase gracefully, more beautiful than any other girl in the room; her handsome Black family features accentuated in the light dispersing from the chandeliers above.

Narcissa clutched the gown, holding it against her chest; thinking of the sister whose loss had left a gaping hole in Narcissa's heart.

She then put the gown back in its wrapper and grabbed a piece of parchment. She would send off the gown to Acquila along with the letter stating the significance of the gown- a perfect Christmas gift. And then Acquila would walk down the staircase wearing the very dress which all the eldest daughters of their Noble House had worn. The tradition would remain unbroken. Of course, there was the matter of Acquila being unwilling to come to the Manor, but Narcissa had the perfect solution for it. No matter what, the ball would be a success.

A few minutes later, as Dobby took away the gown and the letter, storing it safely to be dispatched to Hogwarts on Christmas day; Lucius entered the room.

"Good evening, darling," he said, placing a kiss on Narcissa's cheek.

"Good evening, Lucius."

"Still preparing for the Ball? I don't understand why you can't leave the task to that wretched elf."

"You won't understand, Lucius," she said smiling.

"And I also don't understand why you scheduled the ball for the 29th, when it has been held on Christmas day since years," he said, a hint of disagreement in his voice.

"I want Acquila to attend the ball, Lucius. And you know as well as I do that Acquila won't agree to come here for Christmas. She is going to her aunt's place," she said, not wanting to mention Andromeda's name.

"And what makes you think the girl will be here for the ball? She will refuse to come," he spat out, hating the very thought of the girl.

"She will come. For Draco."

Narcissa continued as she saw her husband's skeptical look.

"She really cares for Draco, Lucius. Had I not read out his letters to you? She loves him, considers him family. Draco hasn't been talking to her, as she refused to come here for Christmas. And she is genuinely upset over his anger. Draco said she tries to talk to him daily, trying to placate him. It won't be long before she gives in to him and agrees to come for the ball," she said with conviction.

Lucius still seemed skeptical, but then his eyes grew colder, glinting evilly.

"If she comes for the ball on her own, well and good. And if she doesn't, you can always use your position as her guardian to drag her to the Manor, can't you?" he smirked.

"I could, but I prefer her coming here of her own will. I do not want to force her to come."

"Is my wife developing a soft spot for the blood-traitor brat?" he asked calmly, but Narcissa could her the anger beneath his tone.

"Of course not, Lucius," she said, her face emotionless, though her heart was thudding with fear of what her husband would say if he knew what she had been thinking in the past few minutes.

"Of course not," she repeated. "But unlike you, I prefer to deal with people without unnecessary violence. So I will wait for the girl to come here on her own."

"As you wish, Cissy," he said, kissing her lips lightly. "Now shall we have dinner? And if the blasted elf hasn't yet set up the dinner table, you can tell him to burn his ears in the oven."

Narcissa rose and followed her husband, her mind still full of conflicting emotions for her niece.

...

Acquila slept soundly, dreaming of Harry's Christmas gift; when Hermione's frantic cries woke her up.

"Let me sleep, 'Mione," she groaned, not wanting to wake up this early.

"Wake up!" Hermione shook her roughly. "Dora is at the door! She wants to see you immediately!"

Acquila sat up suddenly, wondering what the matter was, and ran down to the portrait door, wrenching it open to see Nymphadora pacing about, a worried look on her face.

"Dora! What's the matter?"

"I have to leave!"

"Leave?"

"My granny, Caroline, my dad's mom isn't well. She's been kept at a Muggle hospital, and the healers…doctors have said she might not have long to live."

"Oh!" said Acquila.

"I'm leaving now; Dumbledore gave me special permission to leave before the vacations begin…"

"So we can't come to your house for Christmas?" Acquila asked her, trying to keep the disappointment in her voice to a minimum.

"Yeah," Dora replied. "Though if we're back in time for Christmas, mum will definitely come to pick Harry and you at the station, and then you'll come home," she continued.

"Okay. It's alright, Dora. Go ahead, take care of your granny," Acquila managed a weak smile, though inwardly she was quite upset at not being able to spend Christmas with the Tonks.

"You'll stay at school, won't you?"

"Yes. I will."

"Now I have to leave, Acquila. The portkey is waiting for me. Take care. And I'm sorry… tell Harry too…"

"Dora, there is no need to apologise. It's alright. Just keep us informed," she replied, hugging the elder girl.

"Bye, Acquila!" said Nymphadora, stumbling over as she started to depart.

"Bye, Dora," said Acquila, with a heavy heart, rushing to the boys' dormitory to inform Harry.

...

As Christmas was nearing, Hogwarts often woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. Acquila was still upset that Draco was avoiding her. Draco had been even more furious when she had decided to stay at the castle with Harry after the Tonks had left to tend to Dora's grandmother. He was enraged that Acquila had chosen to spend Christmas with Harry, rather than at the Manor. Acquila had tried to talk to him several times but each time, he would just ignore her and walk away with Crabbe, Goyle and a sneering Pansy Parkinson by his side. Acquila did not want her cousin to be angry with her, especially with Chirstmas about to arrive. Harry tried to console her, but truth be told, he was happy that Draco wasn't talking to her.

When Harry, Hermione, Ron and Acquila left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.

"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.

"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose - that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

"Don't say that Draco. Apologize right now to Ron," Acquila told him angrily as Hermione and Harry bristled furiously behind her.

"You don't listen to me why should I listen to you. And I am a Malfoy. Malfoys don't apologise to poor, blood-traitorous Weasels," Malfoy haughtily, his anger at Acquila supporting Ron getting the better of him.

Before Acquila could reply, Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.

"WEASLEY!"

Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.

"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.

"I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him -"

"I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."

Acquila just stood there looking very upset. Draco had promised her that he would be civil to her friends. And now he had back-tracked on his promise.

"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."

So the four of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to -the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree - put it in the far corner, would you?"

The hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.

"Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me - guys, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."

"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.

"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

"Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out about him."

"You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here - I've told yeh – drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."

"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all. And we already know he is involved with alchemy and he is friends with Professor Dumbledore," said Acquila.

"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere - just give us a hint."

"I'm sayin' nothin, said Hagrid flatly.

"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.

They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? They knew where to start looking, the Alchemy books, but they hadn't had any luck as yet. He wasn't in Great Alchemists of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names in Alchemy in Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Alchemical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Alchemy. And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.

Acquila and Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles they had decided to search and headed off in different directions to find their respective books, while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling out any book with the word Alchemy on it, off the shelves. Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.

They left the library half an hour later.

"Found anything?" Hermione asked.

"No," all of them said in unison.

"I bet he'll be mentioned in some book in the Restricted section of the library," Harry said.

"Yeah! I think so too," said Acquila. "We'll have to find a way to get permission to go in there."

"You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."

Ron and his brothers were staying at Hogwarts for Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Ron's elder brother, Charlie.

"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."

"Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.

After Nymphadora had told Acquila and Harry about her grandmother, they had no option but to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas with Ron. Harry was sad that they wouldn't be visiting the Tonks but he was more than happy to spend Chritmas at Hogwarts which was more of a home to him than Privet Drive ever was. On the other hand, Acquila wasn't happy at all. She had been looking forward to Christmas with the Tonks. But with those plans getting cancelled and Draco ignoring her, she wasn't in the best of moods.

...

Finally Christmas morning arrived and Acquila was woken up by Parvati and Lavender's giggles.

"Quiet, you two," said Acquila.

"Acquila wake up! It's Chritmas! Look at the pile of gifts you've got," Lavender exclaimed.

Acquila immediately woke up and saw a heap of gifts at the foot of her four poster bed. She stared at them, wide-eyed. In all the years she lived at the Orphanage, she had got just one gift each year. Seeing the heap of gifts waiting to be opened, her sulkiness over the past few days was all forgotten. She excitedly picked up the one on top- it was from Harry. She tore open the wrappings and found a wonderful wizarding chess set. The tiny chess soldiers were trying to tear open the transparent cover to get out.

"I'll get you'll out soon," she said and placed it on her bed.

Then, next was a tiny one with Draco's name on it. She smiled happily. She hadn't really expected Draco to send her a gift. She opened it and found a small velvet box. Inside was a big emerald pendant, with a note. She opened the note first, grinning with relief on reading Draco's apology.

_Dear Acquila,_

_I'm sorry for my rude behaviour. I'm missing you loads. At least come to the Manor for the ball on the 29th. Please._

_Yours,_

_Draco_

She then took the pendant out of the case. "Oh my! This is beautiful," she gasped in wonder, admiring the pendant.

The next present was from Narcissa Malfoy. She didn't really want to open it, but she was too curious. She un-wrapped it and found a note on top of a cardboard box. It read:

_Dear Acquila,_

_Merry Christmas! I have sent you a gown for the ball which will be held in your honour on the 29th of December. It is Black family tradition, for the eldest daughter of The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black to wear this gown at her very first ball. _

_I will come to escort you to the Manor on the 28th at Hogwarts._

_Narcissa Malfoy_

She sighed and opened the box, and found a silk gown; the colour was a very dark shade of green, almost black. The material was so soft it felt like water in her fingers.

"Oh Merlin! That's a lovely gown," Lavender squealed in delight.

"Who gifted it to you?" Parvati asked excitedly, cooing at the elegance of the gown.

"Just leave it," said Acquila, her temper rising. She had already told the Malfoy's that she wouldn't be coming for the Christmas holidays. So why did they still expect her to come for the ball? She threw the box down and picked up another gift to divert her mind. Lavender and Parvati went back to their gifts gossiping about the gown and who must have sent it.

This one was from Mrs. Weasley, a blue sweater with a huge 'A' on it. She loved it and wore it immediately; mentally making a note to write to Mrs. Weasley at the earliest to thank her for the jumper.

Next, she opened her Aunt Andromeda's present. Inside was a rectangular book. She opened it and saw a picture of her new-born self with her mother. Athena looked immensely happy as she caressed the black tufts of hair on Acquila's baby head. She ran her fingers over the picture, feeling half-sadness and half-joy. She turned the page wanting to see more. There were more pictures of her with her mother, a few pictures with what seemed to be the McKinnon family. Another picture was with the Tonks family, a young Dora sitting on Sirius' lap. And the last picture was of her parents on their wedding day. Both of them looked extremely happy, her father whispering something in Athena's ear as she laughed and kissed Sirius' cheek. She flipped through the pictures, thinking this was the best Christmas gift she had ever got.

"Thank you, Aunt Andromeda. This means the world to me," Acquila said in a whisper.

She went through the other gifts, still thinking about the photo album. She'd got a wooden flute from Hagrid, a pair of pink stockings from Dora, sweets from Ron, a book on wandless magic from Hermione.

The last package was a long brown package. It had no name, no note accompanying it. She knew what the package carried- a broom. She opened the package gradually, to find a brand new Nimbus Two-thousand in it.

"Oh my! This is awesome! I have to show this to Harry," Acquila exclaimed, and rushed down to the Common room, ignoring the calls of Lavender and Parvati.

Seeing that the boys hadn't come down as yet, she decided to wait for them. She picked the armchair closest to the fire and started going through the photo album again.

Suddenly she felt something touch her shoulder; she turned around but saw no one. After a few seconds she felt it again, this time she turned determinedly, wanting to use her wandless magic to find out who was irritating her.

"Whoever is doing it come out right now, before I hurt you," she said in an annoyed voice.

She then felt a hand take her hand and she spun to the side, but she couldn't see anyone there. The invisible hand was still clasping her and a second later Harry appeared next to her out of thin air.

"It was you!" Acquila said, as Ron came down laughing.

"Yes!" Harry said laughing too.

"You scared me! Is that…is that an invisibility cloak?" Acquila asked, looking at the cloak in his hands.

"It is!" said Harry happily.

"I've read about them! Who gave it to you?" Acquila asked, taking the cloak in her hands.

"Dunno. There was no name on it. Just a note saying that it belonged to my father and now it's mine and I should use it wisely," Harry answered.

"Oh! I got an anonymous gift too. A Nimbus Two-thousand!" Acquila said showing them her new broom.

"Wow! How come I don't get any gifts from secret admirers? Harry's got two of them," Ron said, clearly jealous.

"Two?" Acquila asked.

"Yeah! I've got one more anonymous gift. It's a Broomstick Servicing Kit," Harry said. "And Acquila, I loved the gift you gave me," he continued, showing her the golden snitch with 'HP' engraved on it.

Before they could ponder more on the anonymous gifts, Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look – Harry and Acquila have got Weasley sweaters, too!"

Fred and George were wearing yellow sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.

"Harry and Acquila's is better than ours, though," said Fred. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."

"I hate maroon," Ron moaned half-heartedly as he pulled it over his head.

"What's all this noise?"

Percy Weasley came down the stairs, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.

"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry and Acquila have got one."

"I - don't - want said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.

"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."

...

Harry and Acquila, both had never in all their life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce - and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table.

Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.

Harry, Acquila and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds and Acquila flew her new Nimbus 2000 along with Harry on his own broom. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Acquila broke in her new chess set by beating Ron narrowly, much to the red-head's chagrin and the twin's pleasure.

After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.

Ron went up to the dormitory to sleep and Harry and Acquila continued to play chess in the common room. After a few minutes Ron came running down with a bed sheet in his hand, looking furious.

"Acquila, look at what your cat did!" Ron screamed, showing her the blood stains on the bed sheet. "It killed Scabbers!"

"She couldn't have! Nyx wouldn't do that! Scabbers must be there somewhere in your dormitory," Acquila replied indignantly, looking around for Nyx.

"He isn't anywhere. You think I didn't look! The only thing left of him is this blood and some of his rat hair around it," Ron said, turning beetroot red with anger.

"Look, Ron. Nyx musn't have done this. Anyway, your rat didn't look well these last few days. It must have died on its own," Harry tried to explain.

"No Harry. I'm sure it was her bloody cat. Since the first day in the Hogwarts Express, Nyx had an eye on Scabbers," Ron bellowed.

"It wasn't Nyx. I am sure of it," Acquila said, her voice rising in volume.

"Where is Hermione when we need her? She would have diffused the situation," Harry mumbled to himself.

"What?" both Ron and Acquila asked him at once.

"Umm… See even if it was Nyx, Ron you don't need to shout at Acquila for it. It wasn't her fault," said Harry, trying to bring some sense between his warring friends.

"Yeah! Yeah! I knew you would take her side. You always do," Ron grumbled.

"Why wouldn't he support me? And he takes my side because I'm always right," Acquila said.

"There is no point arguing with you. Your cat killed my rat and that's final. I don't want to talk to you ever again!" Ron yelled and stormed back to his dormitory.

Acquila sat down on the arm chair with a huff. "Why does he always blame me?"

"It's not like that. Ron uses blaming others as his defense mechanism. He knows you are not to blame, but he finds blaming you easier to cope with Scabbers' death," Harry tried to explain.

Acquila still looked upset.

"Oh come on, Acquila. It's Christmas time! Don't get this upset! And I know what will cheer up your mood!"

"What?" she asked him sulkily.

"You'll have to wait for it. It's a surprise," he said, thinking of waking her up at night to make good use of the invisibility cloak.

"Alright, I'll wait. But now, let me go look for Nyx. And you go talk to Ron, or he'll be angry with you as well," she said, walking towards her dormitory.

...

Harry crept down the staircase leading out of his dormitory silently, covered by the invisibility cloak. He had thought of taking Ron along with him, but he wanted to share the only thing he had of his father's, with Acquila first. If something could cheer up Acquila after the Scabbers-Nyx debacle, it had to be prowling around the castle invisible. He walked up to the common room, wondering how to go up to the girls' dormitory to wake her up. But to his utter surprise, Acquila was sitting in an arm-chair by the fire.

"Hey!" he said to her softly, pulling the invisibility cloak off him.

"Hi, Harry," she smiled.

"Why are you awake this late?" he asked her.

"I knew you would use the cloak to sneak out tonight. And I also knew you wouldn't go without me, Harry. So I thought of waiting for you. This is my surprise, isn't it?" she smirked at him.

"Smart girl," Harry grinned at her. "Now come on, let's go to the library. We can search all the books in the restricted section using the cloak!" he exclaimed.

"Oh Harry! The Restricted Section? Seriously?" she shook her head in mock ruefulness. "I have a better idea! Let's explore the school and search for the secret passages I heard the twins talking of that day," she exclaimed, her eyes alight with excitement."

"Never thought I would see the day you decline a trip to the library, Acquila," Harry grinned.

"We can go to the library tomorrow night, but now, let's just explore the castle. And maybe we'll find at least one of the seven secret passages."

Harry smiled at her, and pulling the cloak over their bodies, he clasped her hand and walked out of the portrait hole.

"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady, but Harry and Acquila ignored her, creeping away to the stair-case their hearts filled with uncontrollable excitement. They had the whole of Hogwarts open to them; free to wander where they wished, without anyone able to see them. They crept down the staircases; Acquila almost missing a trick-stair till Harry pulled her up in time.

"Thanks," she whispered, as he pulled her towards the next staircase.

"Where do we begin from?" he asked her.

"Umm… let's just go to the third floor. I know you really want to look into the Restricted Section," she said, knowing how eager Harry was to find out about Nicholas Flamel.

"Alright," he said, smiling.

But as they reached the Library, Acquila noticed a door which stood ajar.

"Let's go in there, Harry," she whispered.

"There? Why?"

"Oh, come on! We're out to explore! We'll go to the library after this," she said as Harry gave in and they walked into the room, cloak held tight around them.

It looked like an unused classroom, chairs and desks were piled against the walls and an upturned waste-paper basket.

But propped against the wall facing them was something which seemed quite out of place in the unused classroom. It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet.

'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru on wohsi'

Acquila read out the words carved on the top of the mirror. She went and stood in the front of the mirror and what she saw next had her screaming involuntarily, till Harry clamped his hand shut over her mouth.

"What is wrong with you?" he hissed.

She silently grabbed his hand and pointed to the mirror; her heart beating frantically against her rib-cage.

"Can you see him?" she whispered, grabbing at the air behind her to see whether she could touch him, but her hands felt nothing.

It was her father, standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders. He smiled at her widely. He seemed nothing like the prisoner in tattered clothes whom she had seen in picture in the Daily Prophet. On the contrary, he wore a rich-looking set of black robes; his black hair fell gracefully onto his forehead, he seemed much younger than he looked in the photograph. His grey eyes which were so similar to her own, bored into hers lovingly, full of affection for her, a kind of affection she hadn't seen in anyone else. He bent down and placed a kiss on the top of her head, hugging her tightly.

"Can you see him? He isn't a convict! He's a free man!" she exclaimed; but Harry seemed to be lost in staring at the mirror. He then turned to look behind him as if expecting to see someone standing there. Before she could ask him if he could see her father in the mirror, she heard say in a whisper full of longing and love, "Mom? Dad?"

And then he turned to her, "Can you see them , Acquila? My mom! Her eyes are just like mine! And my dad? His hair is messy just like mine is… and that man there? He has wobbly knees just like mine…" he said dazedly, his green eyes glistening.

She looked into the mirror again, but all she could see was her father.

"Can't you see my dad, Harry? Behind me?"

"No, Acquila. I can just see my family… my parents. I can't even see you! How is that?"

"I can't see you too! I can just see my father," she said softly, as Harry moved closer to the glass of the mirror, his face almost touching it, and then suddenly he exclaimed, "I've seen my parents earlier! In the photograph! With your parents!"

"What!"

"Yes. It was them! I'm sure!"

"You mean our parents were friends too?" she gasped.

"I think so," he said, green eyes looking into the grey ones with wonder, till he hugged her in a rib-crushing hug which she returned with equal fervor.

"I miss them, Acquila…my parents…" he said, his voice coming out in a rasped whisper.

"Oh, Harry," she said sadly, rubbing his back gently, till he let go of her and turned back to the mirror.

They stood there for ages, him looking at his family, and her staring at her father; till they finally realised it was time to go.

"Do we go back to the tower or do we explore some more?" she asked him.

"Let's explore some more," he said, wondering what other magical things the ancient castle held.

As they climbed up the staircase and reached the fourth floor, they heard voices.

"Yes… Poor child…don't think she knows…Black did"

It was Madam Pomfrey, talking to someone. On hearing her surname being mentioned, Acquila pulled Harry towards the entrance to the Hospital Wing, from where the voices emerged.

"Don't you know? Had you ever seen one of them without the other?"

"Oh, I remember," said the other voice, it was Professor Sprout. "They were like two peas in a pod- James Potter and Sirius Black. Best friends since their first year."

Harry clasped Acquila's hand beneath the cloak, wondering what the two women were talking about their fathers.

"Professor Flitwick told me the other day; very few people know of it. Do you know the Fidelius charm?" asked the Nurse.

"Fidelius? Umm… Oh yes! Isn't that the charm that conceals a secret inside an individual's soul."

"Yes. The witch or wizard who houses the secret is known as the Secret Keeper. And Sirius was the secret-keeper for James and Lily's house in Godric's Hollow."

Professor Sprout gasped, "Sirius? But…but he wouldn't betray James…they were like brothers," she sputtered.

"Yes. Sirius. He betrayed the Potters to He-who-must-not-be-named. He told him of the Potters' location," she said as Professor Sprout let out a gasp of shock.

" Do you remember Peter Pettigrew; the small boy who always hovered around James and Black?" the nurse continued.

"Oh yes, I do," said the Herbology Professor, her voice strained.

"He went after Sirius to avenge the Potters' death. And Sirius blew up the street; killed thirteen muggles and Pettigrew with a single curse."

"What! And Acquila and Harry know nothing of this?"

"No. Nothing. The poor children are the best of friends, they had been here in the Hospital a couple of times…but they know nothing of this," said Madam Pomphrey.

Harry and Acquila were rooted to the spot. Acquila was unable to believe her ears. Her father betrayed Harry's parents? Her father was responsible for Harry having to live as an orphan all these years? Hot tears flowed down her face, without her even realising that she was crying. She hadn't even realised that Harry had abruptly let go of her hand. He took deep breaths, bristling with anger.

"Aaaah," came a strangled voice from one of the beds.

"My patient beckons, Pomona. Thanks for the asphodel," said Madam Pomfrey.

"Good night, Poppy," said Professor Sprout as she walked away, passing an invisible Harry and Acquila.

Harry grabbed Acquila's hand roughly and dragged her towards the staircase as soon as both the women were out of sight.

"Harry?" she said, fear gripping her heart at his angry demeanor. Of course, he had every right to be angry. She would have been angry too; if she knew that her parents were dead thanks to being betrayed by their best friend. But Harry wouldn't blame her father's crimes on her, would he? He was the one who had told her that her family didn't make her what she was.

As they entered through the portrait door, her heart was thudding like never before; he left her hand by which he had been dragging her up the staircases for the past few minutes. He took the invisibility cloak off them in one wild motion and threw it at the armchair. He then looked straight into her eyes, the words which she had been about to utter dying on her lips as she saw his emerald green eyes blazing with anger and hatred, something she had never ever seen in his eyes.

"I hate your father. And I hate you, Ms. Black," he spat at her and she felt something within her cracking vertically into two.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** I apologise for the late update. I won't get into the reasons why it took two weeks to update, since it'll lead to an extremely long note :-P

So let's get on with the chapter! I hope the length of the chapter makes up for the wait. It has 23k+ words :-)  
And a big thanks to all those who have reviewed, followed and favourited the story and those who PMed me! :-D

**Theta-McBride**- Thanks. I hope you like this chapter!

**mdauben** - Harry was harsh, but he will make up for it soon ;-) As for the ferret, he has only a short appearance in this chapter. Hope you like this chapter too!

**guest**- She will be strong. And Harry is going to have to beg and grovel. Acquila isn't one to forgive and forget soon ;-) Thanks for your review!

**xxSunnyXBlackxx** - Acquila will be happy soon! Thanks, and hope you like this update too!

**Merida**, **Kida Night**, **Guest**- Thank you so much for your reviews!

**PotterHead999** - I just love your reviews! It's wonderful to have loyal readers! Love you, too! :-)

**Mediatrix**- You'll have to read this chapter to know! And I hope you don't find it cliched ;-)

**Awesomeness**: Your review put a big smile on my face! :-D And you're right about almost all the things you've predicted! Thanks a ton! :-)

**Disclaimer:** JKR owns all of Harry Potter and her new book 'Cuckoo's Calling', which I can't wait to read ;-)

**Chapter 13: Conflicting Thoughts**

"I hate your father. And I hate you, Miss Black," his words reverberated through her mind and she was momentarily at a loss for words.

"You don't mean that, Harry,"she said, trying to convince herself that Harry had just said that in the heat of the moment. He wouldn't hate her. He _couldn't _hate her.

"I mean every word of what I said. Your father killed my parents! YOUR FATHER!" he bellowed at her.

"You knew of this, didn't you? But you didn't tell me. You lied to me," he said, green eyes boring into grey fiercely.

"What?" she exclaimed, flabbergasted."How can you even think that I would hide such a big thing from you? I didn't know of this. I swear I didn't. I would have told you if I did," she said indignantly, anger taking over her grief. How could Harry even accuse her of keeping secrets from him, when he was the only she had always shared everything with? How could Harry even think of her lying and hiding things from him?

"You knew! You spend hours at lessons with McGonagall. You've even met Dumbledore so many times! And if Madam Pomfrey knew of this, you think McGonagall and Dumbledore wouldn't know? And you expect me to believe that they didn't tell you? You knew! I am sure you knew; which is why you kept trying to convince me of his innocence!"

"I didn't know! Why can't you believe me? They never told me! Neither Dumbledore nor McGonagall!" Acquila yelled. "And I told you of his innocence because-" she stopped, hearing two pairs of feet descending from the third year boys' dormitory.

"What's the matter?" asked Fred, visibly stunned at seeing the usually friendly eleven-year olds arguing in the middle of the common room at two-thirty in the morning.

"Why all the screaming, ickle firsties? You'll wake Percy up. And unless you want a lecture on the importance of maintaining decorum in the common room, I suggest you keep your voices down, eh?" winked George.

"But what's the matter? Why are both of you bellowing your lungs out?" asked Fred, slightly worried.

"Would you please leave us alone?" asked Acquila in a calm voice.

George made to say something, but Fred took one look at the anger on Harry's face and grabbed his twin's hand, pulling him up the stairs to their dormitory.

Acquila waved her wand and muttered a spell.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked her, annoyed.

"Trying to put a Silencing charm on the room; I don't know if it worked," she replied distractedly and then took a deep breath. "Look, Harry," she said, outwardly calm, "I told you of his innocence, because after talking to Dora, the man I thought my father was, according to what I gauged from her words, would never have killed fourteen people."

"So are you still going to claim he's innocent, despite knowing he led to my parents' deaths?"

"I don't know! I am confused," she screamed in frustration.

"What do you mean you don't know? He killed my parents!"

"Why would he do that? Didn't you hear Madam Pomfrey? They were best friends! Your father and my dad!"

"Didn't_ you_ hear Madam Pomfrey? _He_ was the secret-keeper! And you are defending the traitor who led my parents to their deaths! I would have been killed too, if You-know-who had his way!" he shouted back, and Acquila could feel waves of anger radiating from him. "How can you even talk of him being innocent?" he shouted again and Acquila took a few steps backward, away from Harry. She could sense what was happening; the air was radiating with magic, like it had when she had been angry with Lucius Malfoy and with Dumbledore.

"Calm down, Harry," she said softly.

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

"I am not defending him. I am confused. I don't know what to make of this. I just said that I don't think he would have done something like betraying his best friends. He was the only man to face Voldemort four times and come of it alive, he was one of the best Aurors; he hated the Dark side! Why would he betray your parents?"

"Of course, he escaped You-know- who unscathed. He was probably a death-eater! Why would You-know-who kill him?"

"You are making no sense! You can't just accuse him of following Voldemort without proof! And stop saying You-know-who! Call him Voldemort!"

"Fine! Voldemort! So are you still going to keep on defending your father? Despite knowing that he led my parents to their deaths?"

"I don't know! He isn't a bad man! He loves me! I know he does! Or he wouldn't have come to the Hospital Wing to see me that night! I know it was him! And Dora told me, he was a good man! He hated Voldemort! He wouldn't betray his best friends!"

"You are just like your father! You know what I see when I look into your eyes? I see the eyes of the person who killed my parents, because of whom I lived in a cupboard under the stairs! My parents couldn't even live to see me grow up, watch me go to Hogwarts! I didn't even know how they looked till I saw them in the Mirror tonight! And all of this is thanks to your father! And now I'm sure that you knew of this, which is why you kept telling me he's innocent! You still claim he's innocent despite knowing what he did! Now on, I want nothing to do with you, Miss Black! I don't ever want to talk to you again."

"Harry-"

"All I can see in you is the man who made me an orphan. You are just like him; just like your family- a family of murderers and criminals. No wonder, they awarded your guardianship to Malfoy's family. Because that's where you belong! A family of killers!" he thundered.

She stood before him speechless; not believing what Harry had just said. Wasn't it Harry who had told her that her family didn't matter; that what mattered was the person that she was? And now, Harry himself was saying she was like her family?

"Stay away from me," he snarled at her and walked away to his dormitory, invisibility cloak in hand.

She stood in the common room for the next few minutes, hoping the last few hours were just part of a horrible nightmare. But then, she walked towards the fireplace and sat down before it, her eyes burning with tears.

How could Harry have said what he did? After three years of being the best of friends, all he saw in her was her father; her dark family? And how could he even think that she belonged to a family like the Malfoys. He knew Lucius had killed her mother's family. And Harry thought she belonged with them?

And he knew what Dora had told her about Sirius. Why couldn't he believe that her father might be innocent? He wouldn't do something as macabre as betraying the location of his best friends to Voldemort. She was sure he wouldn't.

But then, her mind thought of the other side of the coin. Her father spent ten years in Azkaban, and even though he did not get a trial, the Aurors would definitely have had proof of Sirius' crime. Had she been hasty in judging her father? What if he was indeed guilty?

She pulled at her hair in frustration, wanting to bang her head against the wall. Why was her life such a mess? Why couldn't she just know the truth? Could she put faith in her father and lose Harry as a friend? And was she even right in putting faith in her father? All the good things that she knew about Sirius, was from what Dora had told her. But hadn't Dora herself told her not to dwell on Sirius, not to hope of his innocence? But then hadn't her father come to see her in the Hospital Wing? She knew he had, she could bet all the fortune in the Black vault, that it had indeed been Sirius who had hugged her that night. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to believe- Her inner conviction that her father was innocent or Harry's belief that her father had indeed led to the Potters' deaths.

And Harry! Why did Harry not believe her at all? She had always shared everything with Harry- the loneliness she felt at the orphanage, her sorrow at people ridiculing her for the being the Black Heiress, the aversion she felt for the Malfoys, her thoughts about her father. And Harry felt that she hid a matter of such magnitude from her! How could he? Why couldn't he believe that she knew nothing of it at all?

And _why_ hadn't she known of this matter till date? She was the only daughter of Sirius Black. And nobody thought it necessary to tell her that her father was accused of betraying the Potters to Voldemort? Even the school staff knew of it; but did nobody deem it necessary for Acquila to know of it? And then she remembered her last conversation with Dumbledore; remembered the hesitation with which he had replied when she asked him if he was hiding something from her. This was what he had hidden!

She felt furious with each passing moment as she thought of the Headmaster. How much more had he hidden from her? How long was he going to keep hiding matters from her- matters which she had a right to know about! He had absolutely no right to keep her in the dark about things concerning her father and her family. She set out for Dumbledore's office, unmindful of the late hour._ He_ was to blame for the turn which her friendship with Harry had taken. _He_ was to blame for her not knowing things about her father, things which even the school nurse knew, but Acquila didn't.

She wrenched open the portrait door and walked out of it.

"Following in your father's footsteps, Miss Black?" said the Fat Lady in a sleepy voice. "I remember Sirius sneaking out after curfew, late at night. You look just like him, the same grey eyes and-"

"DON'T!" she screamed, and the Fat Lady stopped in mid-sentence, her eyes now wide open.

"What's the matter, girl? Why are-"

"Don't say I am like him!" she yelled at the stunned portrait, and stalked away towards the staircase, her footsteps echoing through the silent corridor.

Acquila finally reached the gargoyles guarding the Headmaster's office.

"Open up," she muttered, glaring at the Gargoyles.

But the Gargoyles remained unmoved.

"Open up!" she said again, this time, her voice was determined. "Open, before I make you," she said, trying to reach out to the magic within her, wondering whether she could blast the dratted gargoyles to gain access to the secretive Headmaster. The gargoyles still remained unmoved;but as she moved her hands towards the unyielding guards of the office, the grotesque stone carvings suddenly move aside allowing her to ascend the spiral staircase after a moment of astonishment at the gargoyles giving in to her threat.

"Ah! Miss Black," she heard Dumbledore say. She had expected him to be sleeping, but he seemed wide awake, impeccably dressed in blue robes, which matched the colour of his eyes.

"The next time you wish to meet me, kindly do not threaten the gargoyles guarding my office. They let you in on my bidding tonight, but if you think of blasting them with your magic again, the thought of which I am certain, did cross your mind, my office may not react kindly to it," he smiled, his blue eyes twinkling.

"I am not here to discuss whether your office can withstand the power of my magic or not," she said in a supremely disdainful voice and Dumbledore was momentarily stunned. Never before had he heard the girl talk this haughtily about her magic. The manner of her speech reminded him of when she had spoken to the Malfoys after they had won the appeal for her guardianship.

"What is the matter, Acquila?" he asked her.

"What is the matter? _You_ are asking me that?" she asked him scornfully.

"Please sit down, child."

"I don't want to sit down," she screamed, banging her hands on Dumbledore's table, the glass instruments on it rattling.

"Ah! The infamous Black temper! Pleasure to see you again, lass," said a sly voice from a portrait on the wall.

"Please keep out of this, Grandfather Phineas," Acquila said to the portrait of her ancestor, without even glancing at it, her eyes were fixed on the Headmaster. And to Dumbledore's surprise, the Slytherin Headmaster nodded at the Heiress of his Noble House and looked at Albus with an amused look on his face.

"What had I asked you the last time I departed from your office?" she demanded as Dumbledore wondered where the conversation was headed.

"You asked me whether there was anything else you needed to know about your father and family," he said after a moment's thought.

"You said no, didn't you?"

"Yes. I did," he said, guessing what the matter was; he now knew exactly what Acquila was talking about. There was only one thing on knowing which she would have barged into his office at 3 am. She knew of Sirius' supposed betrayal of the Potters.

"This is about Sirius being the Secret-keep…"

"HOW COULD YOU HIDE THIS BIG A MATTER FROM ME?" she thundered, interrupting his sentence, her eyes blazing with rage, seeming more black than grey. The other portraits started shouting uproariously over a mere girl talking to Dumbledore in this manner, but Dumbledore quieted them with a look. But Acquila was oblivious to it all. She continued bellowing at the old wizard.

"What gave you the right to keep me in the dark about this? You knew I was friends with Harry. And you knew my father was responsible for the Harry's parents' deaths! But you didn't deem it necessary for me to know that? I am fed up of you and your secretive nature! You have no right to govern my life! You can't keep things about my family a secret from ME!"

"How did you come to know of this?" he asked her softly, breaking her tirade.

"WHAT?" she shrieked and Dumbledore wandlessly put up a shield around her, not wanting her magic to explode due to her wrath. But the next moment, he put down the shield, perplexed.

Acquila shouted, "How did I come to know? Is that all you have to say about this? Aaargh!" she shrieked in frustration and anger.

"Everytime I try to trust you, you give me one more reason not to. What made you think I wouldn't want to know of his treachery? Harry is my best friend! And my father killed both his parents! He sold them to Voldemort! Did you not think I had a right to know this? And seems like everyone apart from me knows of it! I, Sirius Black's own daughter gets to know the biggest crime he committed from overhearing a piece of gossip between a school nurse and a teacher! Wow!" she laughed bitterly, and a slight shiver went up Dumbledore's spine.

"Wow! What a way to know of my father's misdeeds! I asked you, I pleaded with you to tell me everything. But you didn't! When are you going to stop manipulating my life? You put me in an orphanage, you declare me dead to the world, you hide stuff that I am entitled to know and then you make my best friend hate me!"

"Harry knows?" said Dumbledore, more to himself than to the girl before him.

"Who else knew of this? Tell me. Tell me right now!" she said, ignoring his question about Harry.

"Please sit down, Acquila. Kindly listen to what I have to say, and then you can judge my actions."

She glared at him fiercely, and then sat down opposite the Headmaster.

"Speak," she said in a commanding voice.

"Very few people know about it- Minerva, Severus, Alastor, Remus Lupin and a few members of the staff and some people who were part of an organization which fought against Voldemort. And of course, I know of it too. I did not tell you, because I did not want to burden you with the truth and-"

"Who are you to make decisions for me? What made you the judge of what would burden me and what wouldn't? You have no right to keep things from me. And now look what you have done. Harry hates me! This is all thanks to you! You and your supreme confidence that you are the only one who can put things right! I feel like a pawn on your Chess board! My life moves according to your whims and fancies!" she shrieked, and Dumbledore felt a pang of guilt.

"There was one more reason for me not telling you, Acquila. I am almost certain that your father wasn't the secret-keeper for James and Lily. He is innocent. I saw no need to tell you something which isn't true, it's false-"

"You think I believe you?" she interrupted him and then laughed sarcastically, not wanting to tell him of her inner conflict on the topic of Sirius' innocence. She did not trust Dumbledore at all.

"I am not stupid, Sir. You can't keep fooling me every time. I don't trust you one bit. I would rather put my trust in a dark creature residing in the Forbidden Forest than trust you. I don't believe a word of what you say!" she spat at him.

"Give me one reason. Give me one single reason for me to trust you after all the many times you have shredded it. You are just trying to placate me by giving me false hopes of his innocence."

"Just trust me this time, Acquila. And believe me, I did not tell you of this because I am _certain_ that Sirius is innocent. You knowing this, would do you no good. I am looking at ways to capture the real culprit and have Sirius declared innocent. I saw no need for you to know something which isn't even true. I only have your best interests at heart. Once Sirius is a free man, I would have told you everything."

"Real culprit? The real culprit, even the name of whom you refuse to tell me? One more thing in the long list of things which you have hidden from me," she snorted. "And you expect me to believe you?"

She did not want to stay in the company of the secretive wizard even a moment longer. She feared she wouldn't be able to control her fury.

"I don't trust you, Sir. And now onwards, let _me_ decide where my best interests lay. Now on, I am going to take my own decisions. And I would appreciate if I never have to talk to you again. Enough damage has been caused, thanks to you," she said and got up from her seat.

"Acquila, at least let me escort you to the Tower," he said to her.

"No need. I do not need your help anymore, whether with escorting me to the Tower, or with my life," she replied coldly and walked away without a backward glance at the old wizard who had a pained look on his face.

...

Acquila went back to her dormitory, not wanting to think anymore. She fell into her bed, trying to think of anything but the events of the past few hours. Harry, Dumbledore, Sirius… she was fed up of it all. Was it too much to ask for a little peace? But try as she might, sleep never took over her; her mind kept treading through all that had happened. She felt herself wanting to cry. Cry over everything- the fight with Harry, her indecisiveness about her father, Dumbledore hiding things from her. Would Harry really never want to talk to her?

Suddenly, Nxy leapt onto her bed, snuggling into her, her green eyes, which were almost the colour of Harry's eyes, looking at her with what seemed to be affection.

"Meow" she mewed, burrowing herself into Acquila, and Acquila knew that her cat was trying to show support her, console her. And it was then that she finally let the dam burst, and cried her heart out, letting all her frustrations out. And an hour later, as she finally fell asleep, she did not notice Nyx finally leaving her side to look for Scabbers in the castle

...

Acquila yawned as she woke up the next morning, glad that Lavender and Parvati had gone home for Christmas. The mere thought of all the questions they would have pestered her with, had her cringing. As she stood up and looked into the mirror, she winced at her appearance. Her eyes were still red-rimmed and puffy from all the tears she had shed before she fell asleep. Her usually bright eyes seemed duller than ever before, and her cheeks were tear-stained. She walked into the bathroom, undressed herself and let the hotwater flow over her, wishing it could wash off all her sorrow. Even the thought of what Harry had said to her the previous night sent a fresh pang of grief through her heart.

No. She wouldn't think of it. She had seen the fierce determination in Harry's eyes when he said he hated her; when he said he never wanted to talk to her again. He would never relent.

But perhaps, she thought as she dried herself and put on her robes; perhaps Harry had calmed down, perhaps he would see sense and start talking to Acquila again. She dried her long hair using a drying charm which Dora had taught her and after tying her hair into a ponytail, she stared at her reflection in the mirror again. She looked much better now, though her eyes still seemed puffy from inadequacy of sleep.

"Nyx?" she called out; and the cat came trotting towards her. "Would you look whether Harry is in his dormitory?" she asked her pet, as they walked down the stairs of the girls' dormitory. She didn't want to go looking for Harry and face Ron instead. She just did not have the patience and the energy to argue with Ronald about his rat. But Nyx did not go to Harry's dormitory. The cat walked towards the Common Room and inclined its head towards the Portrait Door. Acquila smiled slightly at the intelligent feline and followed it.

She reached the Great Hall and immediately spotted a black-haired boy sitting next to a red-headed one and walked towards them. But as soon as he saw Acquila and Nyx near the Gryffindor table, Ron snarled at her, "Come to cause more damage, have you? How can you even bring your bloody cat near me, knowing it killed Scabbers!"

"You have no proof that Nyx killed your rat, Ron."

"No proof!" said Ron, outraged, "And what about Scabbers' blood on my sheets?"

"Did you see Nyx gobble up your rat? You didn't. Nobody did. So stop blaming Nyx without any valid proof," she said coldly and before Ron could retort, she turned to Harry and said softly, "Harry?"

Harry hadn't even looked up at her during Ron and Acquila's exchange of words; he kept staring at the French toast on his plate.

"Harry?" she said again, seeing that he didn't even look up to glance at her.

"Just leave him alone, Acquila. I don't know how you can even stand here before Harry after defending your father's crimes," Ron thundered, as Harry still continued staring at his French toast.

Acquila's mouth fell open in shock. She had never, ever expected Harry to tell people of what they had heard about Sirius the previous night. Harry knew very well of all the ridicule Acquila faced for having a father who was an escaped criminal who had been sent to Azkaban for murdering fourteen people. If word spread about Sirius having led the Boy-who-lived's parents to their deaths, even the few students who were friendly with her would shun her. Why had Harry told Ron? Of course, she knew Ron well enough to know that he wouldn't spread rumours like Parvati and Lavender did. But she had never expected Harry to betray her confidence.

"I can't believe you told him about that, Harry," she said in a shaky voice.

And that was when Harry finally looked up at her.

"Unlike you, I do not hide things from my friends, Miss Black," he said, emphasising on her last name. And it was then that Acquila walked away, her eyes glistening with tears. Harry still did _not_ believe her. He still thought that she hid things from him. Despite the deep friendship they had for the past three years, despite being best friends, despite knowing that he was the only person she shared everything with, Harry did not trust her at all. Nor did he care for her feelings, or he would never have told anyone about what they had heard about her father. She walked back to Gryffindor tower, and grabbed her Nimbus and walked down to the Quidditch pitch, wanting nothing more than to feel the sense of freedom which flying always gave her.

...

Sirius sat at by the lake, hidden among the bushes. He shivered as the snowflakes fell over his canine form, thankful for the thick coat of fur on his body which protected him from the cold. He was waiting for Nyx to come. The part-kneazle had promised to meet him today, to tell him if she had got any information on the traitorous rat's whereabouts. Nyx had conveyed to him the previous day, about Pettigrew faking his own death and Acquila's friend, who owned the rat, arguing with Acquila, accusing Nyx of having gobbled up Pettigrew.

But as the Dog stood waiting for Nyx, staring at the castle, his attention was drawn to someone flying in the sky. It was Acquila- flying on the Nimbus Two-Thousand. His heart leapt with joy on seeing her fly on the broom which was his Christmas gift to her. But his joy turned to worry in a few moments; instead of seeing happiness on his daughter's face, she seemed to be flying to vent out her anger. She took sharp, perilous turns on the broom, flying towards the ground and then suddenly taking off into the sky, merely a couple of feet away from the ground. She hadn't even worn a coat to shield her from the snow and the cold temperature. She would definitely be down with fever due to all the exposure to snow. His heart clenched with fear for his daughter. He debated turning into his human form and stopping his child, when he heard a 'meow' behind him. It was Nyx.

When he looked back up into the sky and saw Acquila's broomstick descending towards the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief and then turned towards the cat, leading her towards an isolated spot near the lake which couldn't be spotted from the Castle. Nyx started mewing softly, telling Sirius that she had found absolutely no sign of Pettigrew on the seventh floor of the Castle; when his canine ears heard a pair of human feet trudging through the snow. He prepared to sprint towards the Forest, away from the intruder, but his nose caught the smell of the person who was nearing them. He stopped in his tracks and stood still.

A moment later, he heard a voice gasp, "Nyx?" and as he turned around, his eyes met the astonished eyes of his daughter who stood shell-shocked, glancing from the cat to the dog.

Acquila gasped fearfully as she stood facing the enormous dog. It was the same dog as her father's Patronus, the same dog she had spotted while flying with Harry, the very dog she had wanted to search for. But from such a close distance, the dog looked incredibly scary. It was a jet-black dog of a bear-like size and it towered over her smaller body. It was taller than her, and as it looked down into her eyes, she was suddenly reminded of the three-headed dog they had faced in the classroom. She let out a shriek of fear and took a few steps backwards and stumbled, falling down on the snow-clad ground. She expected her magic to lash out at the dog, but to her utter astonishment, her magic seemed weaker than she had ever known it to be. She whipped out her wand and pointed it towards the dog, slowly getting up from the ground.

"Nyx, come here," she said to her pet, scared that the dog would hurt Nyx. But her cat remained unmoved. She pointed her wand more determinedly at the dog, thinking of a spell to cast at it, but to her immense surprise, Nxy walked and stood between the dog and Acquila, as if to protect the canine from any spell Acquila might cast.

The way her cat stood between the dog and Acquila, the protectiveness Nyx showed towards the dog reminded Acquila of the moment Harry had pushed Acquila behind him and stood between the Dementors and Acquila, wanting to protect his friend even at the cost of his own life. Acquila crumpled to the ground, her wand falling limply to her side, and started crying like never before. Never had she felt as frustrated, as helpless as she was feeling now. The mere thought of not having Harry as a friend seemed difficult to comprehend. And with Harry not even willing to look at her, to talk to her, how could she even live at Hogwarts and face him everyday, knowing that he hated her from the very depths of his heart?

Memories from the previous night started flooding her mind. How had Harry been so rude, so insensitive? How could he say that all he could see in her was her father? And how could he have told Ron about what they had heard? She sobbed bitterly, unmindful of the dog which was walking gradually towards her. She knew that Nyx would never have been friends with the dog if it was dangerous.

Sirius stood numb with shock. What had happened to his daughter? Why had she suddenly started crying? He had seen the fear on her face when she stood before him, seen her take out her wand to protect herself against his massive form. But then why had she suddenly crumpled to the ground? Every tear of hers which slid down her face sent a fresh stab of pain through his heart. He had half a mind to transform back into a man, and take her into his arms and stop her gut-wrenching sobs, assure her that her father was here and would put everything right. He stood on the verge of transforming from Padfoot to Sirius, when a warning 'meow' from Nyx stopped him. The cat gave a tiny shake of her head in an almost human-like manner, telling him not to transform. He sighed, acquiescing with the cat's advice and then took tentative steps towards his daughter.

Acquila was shivering as the snowflakes fell onto her; she was still crying inconsolably, wanting to let out all her pent-up emotions, all the confusion, all the hurt that her heart had harboured not just since the past night, but since she her very first day of Hogwarts.

Sirius went up to her hesitantly, she didn't even seem to care that a huge Grim was advancing towards her; she was lost in her own grief. He stood right next to her, not wanting to scare her away, but not knowing what to do next.

"I hate my father," she said, more to herself than to him and his breath hitched in his throat. He felt like running away, he couldn't bear the thought of his only child hating him.

She said nothing more, trying to gain a semblance of control over her erratic breathing. He whined sorrowfully, and she finally looked at him.

"I don't know why, but I know you won't hurt me," she whispered, looking at him and he lay down next to her in the snow;Nyx leapt onto her lap and snuggled into Acquila.

Sirius licked her hand and then shuddered; her hand was so cold. She was freezing! He wished he could have enveloped her into a hug, wanting to warm her cold body, but he settled for placing his enormous head gently onto her lap.

She seemed to cower in fright at the dog suddenly placing its head onto her lap, but then she hesitantly put her hand on the dog's head, making sure to stay away from its enormous muzzle. When the dog leaned into her touch, she started caressing it further, and finally put her arms around its massive body. Nyx hopped off her and trotted off into the snow-clad bushes.

"You remind me of my father, you know?" Sirius heard her saying softly and he sat up on his hind-legs, staring at her, wanting her to say that she didn't mean what she had said- she didn't hate him.

"You are a lot like his Patronus form…the one he sent to the Courtroom. And your eyes…they are grey. Ron had told me... Grims have gleaming yellow eyes…but you, you have grey eyes. And you aren't a Grim, are you? Or I would have been dead the first time I saw you when I was flying with Harry that day," she said, looking into the Dog's eyes. But as she mentioned Harry's name, he saw her eyes get duller and she kept silent, contemplating over something.

He let out a soft whine, hoping she would continue speaking. She kept moving her cold hands over the fur on his back and then said softly, "It must be nice being a dog…no secretive headmasters to deal with, no arguments with friends, no confusing fathers… I don't hate him, you know…my father. I just hate that…that…" she stopped speaking as Sirius' eyes bored into hers, wanting her to continue, wanting her to tell him what the matter was.

And then she chuckled dryly, "I am crazy, aren't I? Talking to a strange, huge dog that should have had me running off to the castle in fear…are you really understanding me? Your eyes hold too many emotions…they are almost human… Maybe you aren't a dog…are you a man? Is it some kind of magic?" and then she chuckled mirthlessly again, "Of course; must be magic. I live in a magical world…a world where I have no one…I can't even talk to Dora, she is off to see her ailing granny; and Draco," she paused as Sirius stiffened at the mention of his cousin's son's name.

"Draco won't understand me. I know he tries to be civil to Harry when I am around, but he will be glad to know that Harry is never going to talk to me again," Sirius heard her say; he wondered worriedly over what could have gone wrong between his kids.

"I just wish I could meet my father once…I'll give anything to just talk to him once. I may be wrong, but deep down I know that he is innocent…he would never have betrayed Harry's parents…I just want to meet him once" she muttered brokenly and Sirius finally stood up on all four of his padded feet. He couldn't let his daughter shed any more tears over him. She believed that he was innocent!

"What's the matt…" she stopped mid-sentence, cursing her stupidity. Of course the dog couldn't reply to her. But she wondered why he had stood up all of a sudden, staring at her with a strange longing in his doggy eyes.

Sirius looked at his daughter; he was going to transform into his human form. He wanted to hug his daughter, hold her, talk to her, and tell her how much he loved her. He kept looking at her, wondering how she would react when he suddenly transformed into her father. He hoped she wouldn't shriek out; he did not want Dumbledore or Snape to come running on hearing her shrieks. He shut his eyes, just about to transform, when he heard a shout, "Acquila! Where are you?" and he stopped, looking in the direction of the shout. He had to leave before someone found him here. His heart ached at losing the opportunity to talk to his daughter; but he couldn't risk being discovered and hauled off to the Dementors. He bent his head down towards Acquila, who surprisingly did not cower back in fear; and licked her cheek with his tongue and with one last glance at her, he sprinted away from her.

"Come back! Why are you going? Doggy! Come back!" he heard her standing up and shouting at him; but he wrenched his mind away from her voice and slunk towards Hogsmeade.

"Acquila! Acquila!" she could hear someone shouting for her, but she continued staring at the dog's enormous black body which could be seen sprinting away through the white snow. "Come back!" she called out again, knowing the dog wouldn't know what she was saying; but hoping he would come back to her.

"There you are!" she heard a voice gasping behind her. It was Percy Weasely. He was panting for breath, clutching at his chest; he had probably come running all the way from the Castle.

"Whom were you calling out to?" he asked her, a tad suspiciously after his breathing had returned back to normal.

Acquila didn't reply, mentally berating Percy for having scared the dog away.

"What's the matter?" she asked him.

"What were you doing flying in the snow without even a coat? Professor McGonagall sent me to fetch you," he said.

"Okay. You go on; I'll come in a while."

"No, Acquila," he said sternly, "She told me specifically to escort you to her office. And I am a Prefect, you have to come with me," he said.

"Okay," she sighed.

"Nyx? Nyx?" she called out and Nxy came out from some bushes, sprinting towards Acquila. Acquila bent down and picked up the part-kneazle, pressing a kiss onto its furry forehead.

"Let's go," she said and followed Percy to the castle, occasionally turning behind, hoping to catch a glimpse of the dog; but she saw it nowhere.

As Acquila walked back to the Castle with Percy Weasley, her thoughts kept veering towards the giant Dog. She knew that the Dog did have some kind of link with her father. However absurd it sounded, the canine seemed to have human-like qualities. Its eyes seemed strangely expressive for a dog. And when she was speaking, it really seemed to be listening and understanding her; even whining softly when she stopped speaking as if it wanted her to continue. But why had the dog run away on hearing Percy? It couldn't have been scared of Percy, could it? She couldn't see a dog of that massive a size, being scared of a mere teenage boy. And why had Nyx wanted to protect the dog when Acquila pointed her wand towards it? The two animals seemed to be so friendly, quite unlike normal dogs and cats. She decided to go back there and wait for the dog the next day. She wanted to know more about the dog. Why did it remind her of her father? Could humans turn into animals? She lived in a magical world; where nothing seemed impossible.

Perhaps she could ask Professor McGonagall about it. But on thinking of Professor McGonagall, the events of the previous night came to Acquila's mind again. Even McGonagall had hidden the fact of Sirius having been the secret-keeper from her. Acquila had come to like the deputy headmistress a lot during the frequent lessons she had with the older lady. She trusted McGonagall; but after knowing McGonagall had kept secrets from her as well, Acquila felt disinclined to talk as freely with the teacher as she used to.

Acquila's chain of thought was broken as she heard Percy calling out to his brother.

"Ron! Where are you going?"

She looked up to see Harry's eyes staring straight at her, and she was oblivious to Percy talking to Ron, dissuading him from going for a walk in the snow. For a moment, Acquila thought Harry was about to say something to her; but the very next moment, his green eyes blazed with anger, like they had the previous night; and Harry walked away without a single word.

Acquila wanted to run after him, wanting him to stop ignoring her, to persuade him to talk to her; but her pride did not let her. Her feet stood rooted to the spot, as her eyes stood fixed at Harry's retreating figure.

She couldn't bear this; Harry couldn't act as if she didn't exist. She felt another pang of grief within her as she remembered his words from the previous night- he had said he never wanted to talk to her; that she belonged to the Malfoys.

She didn't want to stay in Hogwarts any longer. The dog could wait. She would meet it when she came back to Hogwarts after the vacations ended. But now, she would leave Hogwarts and go back to the one place where she knew someone who really loved her would be waiting to welcome her with open arms, to love her, and to lessen the pain she felt.

They had reached McGonagall's office.

"Go in, Acquila. The professor is waiting for you," said Percy and Acquila walked into McGonagall's office, shutting the door behind her.

"Miss Black! What do you think you are doing! Flying on a broomstick when it's snowing this heavily! You haven't even worn a coat!" McGonagall exclaimed and waved her wand.

Acquila felt suddenly warm and felt the cold subsiding; and realised that McGonagall had cast a warming charm over her freezing body.

"I understand that you are upset on knowing about your father and the Potters, but flying dangerously in the snow is no way to vent your frustrations, Miss Black," said the professor.

When Acquila said nothing, McGonagall gestured towards the chair, telling Acquila to sit.

"Acquila," she sighed, "We didn't want you to know of it, because-"

"Can we please not talk of it, Professor?"Acquila interrupted her and McGonagall was momentarily at a loss of how to react, never having been interrupted by a student before. She then nodded at Acquila.

"I wish to leave Hogwarts for the remainder of the holidays, Professor," said Acquila.

"I understand. But Andromeda is occupied with taking care of her mother-in-law. And living with the Malfoys is not advisable," replied McGonagall.

"I want to go back to the Orphanage. I want to stay with Mrs. Smith."

McGonagall kept mum for a minute. She did not want Acquila to leave Hogwarts. But Acquila going back to the Orphanage would be much more preferable than her going to the Malfoys.

"Okay, Acquila. Pack your trunk. I will escort you to the Orphanage after a talk with the Headmaster," she replied to the girl, noticing how her eyes blazed at the mention of Dumbledore.

"Thank you, Professor," said Acquila and walked out of the office.

...

"She wishes to go back to the Orphanage for the remainder of the holidays," McGonagall sighed as she sat opposite Dumbledore in his office.

"Did you not try to dissuade her?" asked Dumbledore, not wanting to compromise on Acquila's safety. Her being outside the confines of Hogwarts would make her susceptible to danger.

"No. I did not. She didn't even talk to me as freely as she usually does. And frankly, I think it's better she is away from Hogwarts for some days, especially after the confrontation she had with you last night," the deputy headmistress said, remembering the anger in Acquila's eyes at the mention of Dumbledore.

"I do not want her to be away from Harry, Minerva," said Dumbledore gravely.

"You told me that she and Harry had a heated exchange of words last night. A few days away from each other may improve things between them. I feel it's better if she goes to the Orphanage, Albus."

"The power of her magic has diminished," said Dumbledore, without the usual twinkle in his eyes.

"Diminished?" gasped McGonagall.

"When she was furious with me last night, I put up a shield as a precautionary measure. But on a closer inspection, I found that her magical power had diminished. And I am certain that it was due to Acquila's deep grief at Harry saying that he hates her. And due to the bond."

"But...the bond? I don't understand, Albus."

"Their bond is based on love, Minerva. Harry and Acquila are two parts of a whole. Their very souls are bonded, their magic is one. And their love for each other strengthens the bond. Last night, Harry told Acquila that he hates her. He did not mean that, but the anger that he felt for her, is affecting the bond. When they are together, I doubt there is anything that can defeat them. But with the love that Harry had for Acquila being shadowed by the anger that he is feeling towards her, it is affecting their bond, and thus affecting Acquila's magic."

"It's strange...the bond."

"To be honest, there is a lot about their bond which is unknown to me as well. Nicholas and Perenelle told me that Harry and Acquila should be able to feel each other's emotions. If that is indeed happening, then I feel that since they are both so young, they cannot really realise that they are feeling the other's emotions as well. And I also think that they should be able to draw on each other's magical power as well."

"But we haven't seen Harry display magic as powerful as Acquila's, have we?"

"No. But I feel that it's because Harry hasn't faced situations which would anger or threaten him to the extent that Acquila has. It's all unchartered territory, Minerva," said Dumbledore softly, and McGonagall was inwardly surprised. Never before had she seen Dumbledore this indecisive, this ignorant about a magical aspect.

"What if they never reconcile with each other?"

"Oh, they will. Love overrides every other negative emotion. And if they do not reconcile, then I will make sure they do. And for that, I do not wish to let Acquila go to the orphanage."

"Albus, she isn't like Sirius only in her looks; but she is also somewhat like him in her nature. She has made up her mind on leaving Hogwarts, and if you refuse permission- which you can't anyway, since during the holidays students can go where they wish- I am sure she will find a way go there. You surely remember the number of times Aberforth had seen James and Sirius in Hogsmeade, even on school days. I am sure Acquila will find a way to leave Hogwarts and go back to the orphanage. So let her go, Albus. And I think what she needs now, is some time away from the magical world, away from the problems which have plagued her since the day she stepped into Hogwarts."

"You are right, Minerva. Kindly escort her to Surrey," said the Headmaster.

McGonagall nodded and descended the spiral staircase, thinking about the Black Heiress.

...

Acquila exited her dormitory, shutting the door behind her and started descending the staircase leading out of the dormitory. She dragged her trunk down the stairs, but then stopped and concentrated on the trunk, wanting her inner magic to levitate the trunk, as she had done in the Charms lesson. But surprisingly, the trunk just raised itself a few inches in the air, and then fell down with a thud. Acquila was stunned! What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she levitate the trunk wandlessly? Was there something wrong with her magic?

But then she dismissed her concerns, thinking that she probably couldn't levitate the trunk, as it was much, much heavier than the feather, which she had managed to levitate easily. She took her wand out of her pocket, and with a 'Wingardium Leviosa', she directed the trunk down the stairs; and when she reached the end of the staircase, she put down the trunk with a flick of her wand, and then dragged it to the Common Room.

The common room was completely deserted; except for Harry and Ron, who sat by the fireplace playing exploding snap. At the sound of her trunk being dragged over the floor, Harry and Ron looked up from their game to look at Acquila.

"Leaving, are you?" asked Ron, a nasty edge to his voice.

"Yes," said Acquila.

"Do take your bloody cat along," he said.

Acquila said nothing, her eyes fixed on Harry. For a split-second, Acquila was sure that Harry was about to say something, but the next moment, he looked back at the cards on the table, which suddenly exploded.

She waited there a minute longer, wanting Harry to say something, to at least ask her where she was going. But Harry said nothing. He stared resolutely at the singed cards, not wanting to meet Acquila's eyes.

But when he finally looked up, wanting to ask her where she was going, she was nowhere; she had already left the Common Room.

...

A few minutes later, Acquilla and McGonagall were walking towards the Orphanage, having reached there by portkey.

"Take care, Acquila," McGonagall said, as they reached the Orphanage, and then disapparated with a pop.

Acquila dragged her trunk towards the orphanage. And as she reached the reception she heard an unlady-like squeal from Mrs. Smith.

"Acquila! How are you, my child?" she exclaimed, hugging Acquila.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Smith! I'm so glad to be back," replied Acquila, clutching the older lady tightly.

"You never even told me you're coming, not that I'm not glad to see you," said Mrs. Smith, taking the trunk from Acquila and dragging it towards her room. "I could have come to pick you up from the station."

"It's alright. Professor McGonagall dropped me till the gate."

"Oh! And how was school? And I loved the Christmas gift you sent me, dear. Did you get the muffler I knitted for you?"

"Yes, I did," smiled Acquila, feeling very much at home with the motherly lady.

"Did you have a good term at school? And how's Harry?"

As soon as she mentioned Harry, Mrs. Smith noticed that Acquila's eyes were filled with sudden tears.

"What happened, dear? Did you have a fight?"

"Yes," Acquila said. "But I don't want to talk about it."

"It's alright, dear. Everyone has fights sometime or the other. I'm sure he'll come around," she assured the girl, pulling her into another embrace; knowing that Acquila would tell her what the matter was, when she felt like telling her.

...

_ Later that night,_

"Let's play Chess."

"No."

"Let's play Exploding Snap again."

"No."

"Let's go to the Quidditch pitch! We can fly on your Nimbus!"

"No."

"What's the matter, Harry?" said an exasperated Ron as they sat in their dormitory that night. "Are you going to be gloomy all day? Since Acquila has left, all you've been doing is brooding, mate."

"I am not brooding," said Harry indignantly, his hands wrapped around the snitch Acquila had gifted him for Christmas, just as it was about to fly away.

"You are! Brooding and playing with the snitch she gave you!"

"I am not! I just don't feel like doing anything."

"Let's explore the castle! Come on, you have an Invisibility Cloak! Aren't you going to use it?" exclaimed Ron, suddenly remembering Harry's cloak.

"Oh yes," said Harry, his sullen mood forgotten. "You don't know what Ac… what I saw yesterday! Come on, let's go!" he exclaimed, trying not to dwell on what Acquila had seen in the mirror as the two boys retrieved the cloak and prepared to exit their dormitory.

...

The next morning, Remus Lupin placed the kettle on the flames, in his rented room in a small town in the countryside in Yorkshire. He had managed to track down a muggle relative of Peter Pettigrew, and was hoping to find the traitor somewhere around their house.

As Remus busied himself in making tea, he felt himself relax. He could have made the tea much faster using magic, but sometimes, he preferred doing things, the muggle way, without magic.

Suddenly, his sharp ears heard a soft sound, the sound of someone apparating; someone who was so used to apparition, that the 'pop' of them apparating would have hardly been audible to normal human ears.

"Come in, Albus," said Remus, just as Dumbledore raised his knuckles to knock the door.

"Your enhanced senses made my arrival known to you, didn't they?" said Dumbledore as he entered the room, his eyes twinkling merrily.

"Yes, they did. One of the few advantages of being bitten by a werewolf," said Remus dryly, "Would you like some tea?"

"Oh yes, with three spoons of sugar. I'm sure you know, I have a sweet tooth," smiled Albus.

"What brings you here? I assume something has happened, or you would have called me to Hogwarts, instead of coming to meet me here."

"I will get to that. But before that, tell me how the search for Peter is progressing," said Dumbledore as he sipped the tea.

"I am not even close to making a breakthrough. I have looked around the house he shared with his mother, enquired about him with his distant wizarding cousins, a few muggle places he used to frequent; but there's no sign of him anywhere."

Dumbledore sighed. "Alastor is looking for him too. How I wish we could have involved the Aurors into the search for Peter. But neither Cornelius nor Barty Crouch will even want to consider the possibility of Peter being alive, let alone order the Aurors to look for him."

Lupin nodded and then said, "Now will you please tell me what the matter is, Albus. My mind is jumping from one scenario to the other, each worse than the previous one. What's wrong? Is it the kids?"

"Yes."

"Are they alright?" exclaimed Remus, suddenly worried.

"Oh yes. They are alright. Nothing to worry. But they have come to know of Sirius supposedly betraying James and Lily."

"Who told them?" gasped Remus.

"They overheard Poppy and Pomona discussing it on Christmas night. And now Harry isn't on talking terms with Acquila."

"But they were friends-"

"They were. But from what I know about the matter, when Harry heard that Sirius was responsible for his parents' deaths, he was furious. And his subsequent verbal conflict with Acquila, lead to him telling her to stay away from him, and never talk to him again."

"Merlin! Didn't you tell them of Sirius' innocence?"

"I did try to tell Acquila, but she refused to listen to me. She doesn't trust me," replied Dumbledore.

Remus sighed as the headmaster told him of Acquila's confrontation with him.

"You let her go to the Orphanage?" exclaimed Remus incredulously.

"Yes."

"But she isn't safe there! Peter might harm her! And the Malfoys too! How will the muggles at the orphanage even be able to protect Acquila if Lucius tries to take her to the Manor?"

"That's the reason I'm here, Remus. I want you to go to the orphanage and meet Acquila. And convince her to go to Malfoy Manor for the ball."

Remus stared at the headmaster in astonishment, wondering if his advancing age was really affecting Dumbledore's mental capabilities.

"I'm not going daft, my boy. Isn't that what you were wondering?" chuckled Albus. "I do admit, that I can be quite eccentric at times, but I have thought over her going for the ball. It's the best thing to do."

"Best thing to do? Athena would be rolling around in her grave if she knows that her daughter stepped into the house of the man who killed her entire family!" said Remus indignantly.

"I know that, Remus. But don't you realise that Narcissa is her legal guardian? We do not want Narcissa taking her to the Manor by force, do we? Nor do I want her to involve the Ministry, especially Cornelius in the matter. Things between me and the Ministry are not well, my boy. Especially since Cornelius and I do not see eye-to-eye on the deployment of the Dementors at Hogwarts. And from what I know about Narcissa, she will go to any lengths to have Acquila at the ball. The ball is in honour of Acquila. Can you imagine the flak the Malfoys will face if the very girl in whose honour the ball is thrown is absent? And if there is one thing Lucius prides himself on, it's his family name and honour. They will certainly take Acquila to the ball, even if they have to drag her to the Manor. And with Acquila staying at the orphanage, there is nothing I can do to stop them from taking her. If she was at Hogwarts, things would have been different. But I cannot stop Narcissa from taking her legal ward home. So it is in Acquila's best interests, that she goes to the ball on the morning of the 29th, and returns back to the orphanage the same day, after the completion of the ball."

"There must be some other way out, Albus. I don't trust Lucius Malfoy. We can't have Acquila spending an entire day at the Manor. What if he kills Acquila?" Remus shuddered.

"He won't. After the incident at the Ministry, when she set his robes on fire, I doubt Lucius will try to harm her. And he certainly will not harm her before the ball. I assure you," replied Dumbledore.

"If you feel this is right, then send her to the Manor by all means," sighed Lupin.

"You are taking her there," said Dumbledore.

"Me?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore and then paused, a slightly guilty look in his eyes. "Remus, I know that since the deaths of James, Lily and Athena, you had wanted to play a bigger role in the lives of Harry and Acquila. I know you would have cared for them, as well as you would have cared for your own progeny. But I kept you away from them all these years, especially from Acquila. I know it has pained you immensely, being away from the children. I want you to meet Acquila today. Talk to her, tell her of your friendship with Sirius and James. I know, I am guilty of having hidden a lot of things which Acquila had every right to know, even though it was for her own good. Meet her, Remus. And also tell her about the ball. She does not have an owl of her own. Tell her to write a letter to Narcissa, informing her that she will be attending the ball, and then I will send Fawkes over to you to take the letter to Narcissa."

"Why Fawkes?"

"Lucius knows that Fawkes belongs to me. And I want him to know, that I am standing by Acquila's side, lest he thinks of attempting something untoward, though I'm sure he won't," said Dumbledore.

"Have you told Andromeda of all this?"

"No. I haven't," said Dumbledore, "She never knew of Sirius betraying the Potters."

"You didn't tell her?" exclaimed Remus.

"No, I didn't. And I have faced enough of the Black temper," said Albus wryly. "I will tell her of it, when she returns back home. She is currently tending to Ted's ailing mother."

"You should tell her, Albus. She ought to know."

"I will tell her soon. But now, you prepare to leave for Surrey," smiled the headmaster as Remus' face broke into a wide grin.

"There is one more thing I have to tell you, Remus."

As Lupin looked at him expectantly, Dumbledore proceeded to tell the amazed werewolf all about Harry and Acquila's bond.

...

Acquila! Acquila!" Mrs. Smith called out to the girl who was out in the garden behind the orphanage building, stroking Nyx's black fur, as the cat lay nestled on her lap. On hearing Acquila's name being called out, the cat hopped off her lap and trotted off towards the direction of the voice.

"This gentleman here wishes to meet you, child. He says he's from your school," said Mrs. Smith, with a dubious expression on her face, as Acquila entered the office.

"Mr. Lupin!" exclaimed Acquila, her face alight with joy and surprise, which then turned to suspicion. "Professor Dumbledore sent you here," she said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes, he did. But I am here of my own accord as well. Can I talk to you alone, Acquila?" he asked her, a smile gracing his face; a smile which Acquila thought, made him look much younger.

"May I know what you wish to talk to her about?" asked Mrs. Smith pointedly. Remus looked at the lady for a moment, debating whether to cast a Confundus charm on her to simplify things; but Acquila interjected saying, "It's alright, Mrs. Smith. I know Mr. Lupin well."

"Okay, dear. Why don't Mr. Lupin and you, have a talk in the garden; while I go check on little Robert?" "Thank you, M'am," said Remus and stood up as Acquila led him towards the garden.

"So? What does Professor Dumbledore want you to tell me?" she asked, reminding Remus of Sirius' straight-to-point approach.

"Just a minute," he said, and after confirming that there was no one watching them, he whipped out his wand and whispered 'Muffliato'.

"Which spell was that? I've never read of it," exclaimed Acquila, her eyes ablaze with curiosity.

"You seem to have inherited Athena's inquisitiveness," he smiled.

"You knew my mother?" she gasped.

"I knew both your parents since I was eleven. And I knew Harry's parents as well," he replied, the emotions in his amber eyes oscillating between joy and grief.

"Why didn't you tell me this that day, when you rescued Harry and me from the Dementors?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier. Both of you were too affected by the Dementors. And since we did not meet after that, I had no opportunity to tell you."

"Hmm," she replied, "Tell me about them; especially my mother."

"Athena," Remus paused, "was one of the kindest people I knew; and one of the most intelligent ones as well. She was, as I am sure you know, from a pure-blood family, but the McKinnons were quite unlike the traditional pure-bloods. They did not believe in pure-blood supremacy, and always stood for the rights of Muggle-born wizards and witches. She had an elder sister, Marlene; who was two years older than us. She was in Gryffindor, and played on the Quidditch team. Athena was sorted in Ravenclaw. She was generally was always top of the class in our year, though Lily did give her some tough competition," he smiled, his eyes glazed, as if he was in some far off day in the past.

"Harry's mother, Lily?"

"Yes. Lily Evans. She and Athena did not get on that well at first, but gradually they grew close to each other, especially after they started dating James and Sirius, who were the best of friends," he said, not noticing the conflicting emotions which shone in Acquila's eyes.

"Sirius liked your mother when we were in the fourth year, but they started dating when we were in the sixth year when…"

"When he left his parents' house," Acquila completed.

"How do you know?"

"My cousin told me. Nymphadora Tonks," she replied, and then, on remembering something, she said, "Were you one of my father's three best friends? Dora had told me…" she paused.

Remus said nothing, his mind was off into the past; he generally tended to avoid thinking of their Marauder years, as it reminded him even more strongly of his Sirius', or now Peter's betrayal. But now, he remembered their years as the Marauders.

"Mr. Lupin?" he suddenly heard her voice say, and he realized that she had been trying to gain his attention for the past few minutes.

"Remus," he said.

As she looked at him questioningly, he said, "Call me Remus, not Mr. Lupin. If it wasn't for my own foolhardiness, I would have been your Godfather," he said in a pained voice.

"My Godfather?" she asked.

"Yes. Athena wanted me to be your Godfather; but I had to refuse because…because of certain reasons. And so your parents named James and Lily as your Godparents…I am sorry, Acquila. I wish… I wish I hadn't refused…or you wouldn't have had to spend ten years in this Orphanage…I…" he stopped, the guilt which he had kept subdued within him, now rearing its head.

Acquila was at a loss of words. The man before him would have been her Godfather, she wouldn't have had to live in an orphanage, and she could have lived with someone who knew her parents; had a family. But then, she wouldn't have met Harry, would she? And no matter how furious and upset she was with Harry at the moment, she couldn't imagine a life without Harry in it.

"It's alright, Mr… I mean, Remus. I am sure you had some solid reason to refuse to be my Godfather. I don't blame you for it… now tell me, you were one of the three friends, weren't you? Was it your house that my father went to, after he ran away from home?"

"No. he went to James' house. The Potters had always loved him; he was like a second son to them, especially to Dorea, James' mother. She was related to Sirius; she was a Black before marriage; and after marrying Charlus Potter, she had come to resent her family's bigoted ways. She loved Sirius, almost as much as she loved James. And Sirius always said that Dorea and Charlus were more of a mother and father to him than Walburga and Orion ever were. As for James and Sirius, they were like brothers. You would never see one without the other. They first met each other in the Hogwarts Express, on the first day of school. And since then, they were always together. The four of us were the best of friends, Sirius, James, me and another classmate," he said, not naming Peter.

"You know of the secret-keeper business, don't you?" she asked shrewdly, and Remus looked into her eyes, which reminded him of the friend who, if he was indeed innocent, Remus had failed completely. Whatever little doubt he had of Sirius being guilty had somehow disappeared as he looked at the girl who was a spitting image of his friend. He remembered all the times he had seen Sirius and James together, all the times he himself had spent with Sirius. How could he have just thought of Sirius to have betrayed James? How could he not have gone to Azkaban even once in the ten years that Sirius was incarcerated there? How could he have just given up on his friend? He had failed Sirius, and failed the girl before him, who was looking at him with a hundred emotions flickering in her grey eyes.

"You know of it," she said and it was a statement and not a question this time; she remembered Dumbledore having mentioned Remus' name as one of the few people who knew about it.

"Yes. I did. And till recently, I believed that Sirius had indeed been the Secret-keeper. But now, I know that he probably wasn't; he wouldn't have betrayed James and Lily. I am sorry, Acquila. I… I made no move to even petition for a trial for Sirius; I never once met him, never once tried to listen to his take on the matter. I just…just blindly believed that he was at fault…blindly believed that he killed thirteen muggles and Peter…" he cradled his head on his hands; his fingers wrenching into his sandy hair. Remus had never been expressive with emotions, especially in the last ten years. But today, he seemed unable to control the flood of emotions which flowed through him. His sense of guilt had never been so severe. Being with Acquila seemed to remind him increasingly, with each passing moment, of how he had failed Sirius and Athena. How could he just have blamed Sirius? They were brothers, 'brothers till the end' as James used to say. And he had made no move at all; he hadn't even once considered the possibility of Sirius' innocence. He had let Sirius rot in Azkaban with the dreaded Dementors for ten long years, for a crime which he had never even committed. His amber eyes were full of unshed tears as he stared at the grass, not even wanting to face the child whose father he had failed miserably.

"Remus?" he heard her say, but he didn't respond.

"Remus?" she said again, and then he felt her pull both his hands down.

"Look at me," she said, and he reluctantly turned to face her.

He saw a flicker of shock flit over her face, probably on seeing his red-rimmed eyes, but the next moment, she flung her arms around him, hugging him hesitantly at first, and then tightening her hold on him.

"I don't like to see people crying, you know," she said in a manner very much reminiscent of her deceased mother.

He gradually put his arms around her, hugging her; remembering the little girl who had always crawled up to him when she was a toddler, who loved her Uncle Moony; the little girl who always brightened up his days when he was exhausted after a full-moon night; the little girl whom he would have brought up, only if he hadn't refused the one request Athena made of him.

"You won't hide anything from me, will you?" she suddenly asked him, disentangling herself gently from his embrace.

He hesitated, knowing there were a lot of things which he couldn't tell her- especially him being a Werewolf.

"I can't promise to tell you everything, Acquila. Some secrets aren't mine to tell. But I promise to never keep you in the dark about matters concerning you."

She seemed to think over his answer, and then nodded.

"Okay," she said, "Now will you tell me more about my parents?"

Remus smiled and nodded, proceeding to tell her more about Sirius and Athena.

Half an hour later, Remus was ready to depart.

"I will make sure that the letter reaches Narcissa. I know you don't want to attend the ball," he continued as he looked at the reluctant expression on her face, "But it's for the best. And it's just a matter of one evening, isn't it? You can come back here after the ball is over. And I'll come to pick you up on the 29th. We'll go to Wiltshire by portkey."

"Okay," she smiled.

"Before I leave, I want to tell you something, Acquila. There was a time, when Sirius had done something, which had hurt me terribly," he said, remembering the day when Sirius had sent Snape into the Whomping Willow.

"What did he do?" she gasped.

"That is beside the point," he said, "But it caused me a lot of pain; I felt betrayed and angry. But then I realised, that I couldn't lose a friend, who had stood by me through everything, due to one mistake which he committed. And so, I forgave Sirius. He _did_ make a mistake, but our mistakes make us human, don't they? And it's for us to put friendships above our hurt and pride. I hope Harry and you realise that."

Before Acquila could reply, Remus gave her a quick one-armed hug and apparated after saying a hurried 'See you on the 29th', leaving Acquila alone with her thoughts.

...

"What's up, mate? Are you thinking about the mirror?" asked Ron as he saw Harry sitting by the fire in the Common Room, that evening, deep in thought.

"Where do you think she went?"

"Acquila?"

"Yup," said Harry sheepishly.

"You're forgiving her?" asked Ron in surprise.

"I don't think there is anything to forgive, Ron. _I_ was wrong. I was upset…and angry when I heard that Sirius Black betrayed my parents. And I lashed out at her. It wasn't her fault. And…and I shouldn't have said that she was like her family. And that she belonged to the Malfoys…"

Ron let out a low whistle. "You said that she belonged to the Malfoys?"

"Umm…yes. I did."

"That was a low-blow, mate. I mean, I don't like her being all friendly with Malfoy, but she isn't like them. Apart from her not keeping her cat under control, she is quite a nice girl…" said Ron, the tips of his ears turning red.

"Nyx eating Scabbers wasn't her fault, Ron. I mean, _Acquila _ didn't kill Scabbers, did she? Her cat did…"

"I know, mate. I was just… I had told her to keep Nyz away from Scabbers. But you're right, it wasn't Acquila's fault."

"You think I should write to her? But…but she did defend her father. She said she trusted him, even when she knew he…" Harry faltered, his mind oscillating from one point of view to the other.

"Harry, he is her father. No kid would want to think of her father as a murderer…especially a kid who never even knew her father was alive all these years… I mean, I'm not defending Acquila or Sirius Black," said Ron hastily, not wanting to get Harry mad at him.

"God!" Harry sighed heavily, "I was so rude to her! I was the one who told her that family doesn't matter, what matters, is the person that you are. And then _I_ spewed all that rubbish about her family and the Malfoys," he groaned.

"You can mend things with her when she's back, Harry. Don't brood over it. Let's go to bed now," said Ron, yawning.

"No."

"Aren't you sleepy?"

"No. I'm not. You go to sleep, Ron."

"I know what you're thinking about, Harry! You're thinking about that mirror. Don't go back tonight."

"Why not?"

"I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it - and anyway, I heard Percy saying that Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris patrol the corridors at night. So what if they can't see you under the cloak? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"

"You sound like Hermione."

"I'm serious, Harry, don't go."

But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror. He would go crazy if he thought of Acquila anymore; guilt was gnawing at his insides. And seeing his mom and dad was what he wanted. Of course, seeing them did remind him of Sirius Black; but he loved gazing at his parents, wondering how life would have been if they were alive. And Ron wasn't going to stop him.

That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone.

But there, instead of his mother and father, he saw something which made his green eyes widen in shock. He almost yelled out loudly, but put his hand over his mouth before he could do so, staring at the mirror.

It was Acquila. She stood next to his reflection in the mirror, holding his hand and smiling at him. She then placed a kiss on his cheek, as she had done one night, and then hugged him, all the while smiling happily. He sat down on the cold floor, staring at the mirror; gazing longingly at Acquila's smiling face.

"So…back again, Harry?" he heard a voice.

Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him.

"…I didn't see you, sir."

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.

"So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

"I didn't know it was called that, Sir."

"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"

"It…well…it shows me, my family…and now…Acquila"

Harry saw a strange gleam in Dumbledore's eyes when he mentioned Acquila.

"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy."

"How did you know?"

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently.

"Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"

Harry shook his head.

"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror; that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"

Harry thought. Then he said slowly, "It shows us what we want... whatever we want..."

"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. And now that you have fought with Acquila Black, you see her in the mirror. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.

"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, before you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed, there is something I need to tell you, Harry."

"Yes, sir," said Harry hesitantly, wondering whether Dumbledore would punish him.

"I know that you overheard Poppy and Pomona talking of your parents and Sirius Black," said the headmaster, as Harry wondered whether he would punish him for being out of bed after curfew that day as well.

"But you ought to know, that Sirius Black is innocent," Dumbledore continued.

"What?" exclaimed Harry, shocked.

"Yes, Harry. The real culprit is out at large, and though I cannot tell you who he is," he said as Harry opened his mouth to ask Dumbledore exactly that, "I can assure you that he will be caught soon, and Sirius will be declared innocent. And then of course, you may spend some of your holidays with Sirius and Acquila."

"Why…why would I spend my holidays with them, Sir?"

"Oh! Sirius is your Godfather, Harry," Dumbledore smiled. "James and Lily had appointed him to care for you if something happened to them. Though you will spend some of your holidays with your aunt and uncle, I am sure Sirius will be willing and wanting to have you stay with him."

Harry stood up, his face alight with wonder.

"You mean…I can have a real family? With Acquila and her dad?" he gasped.

"Oh yes, my boy; as soon as Sirius is a free man," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling brightly.

"Sir…Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"

"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"

"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."

Harry stared.

"One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books," said Dumbledore smiling, but feeling slightly guilty at having lied to another child.

...

The next morning, Ron Weasley woke up to the sound of the scratching of a quill on parchment, and then, the parchment being crumpled and thrown onto the floor.

"Wassamatter?" he mumbled, but Harry seemed not to have heard him.

"Harry?" he said, but the boy in question continued scribbling on the parchment.

"Harry!" Ron yelled, and Harry suddenly dropped his quill on to his bed.

"Don't yell, Ron! You startled me!" he exclaimed, looking at the groggy red-head.

"I called out to you twice, Harry, but you didn't hear me! And why the hell are you this engrossed in writing? Blimey! Don't tell me you're doing homework! But we didn't have homework, did we?" said Ron, scratching his head.

"It isn't homework, Ron. I'm writing to Acquila," he said sheepishly.

"Oh!"

"Sirius Black is innocent."

"What?" yelled Ron.

"Yes. Dumbledore told me."

"Merlin's beard! You met Albus Dumbledore! I mean, he spoke to you? When?"

"I went to see the Mirror yesterday..."

As Harry narrated the incidents of the previous night, Ron's astonishment increased tremendously.

"So he's your Godfather!" he gasped, but Harry seemed not to have heard him.

"I shouldn't have yelled at her. She was right. Her father is innocent," he groaned.

"Well, you didn't know that, mate. And anyone in your place would have been angry on knowing that his parents were betrayed by their best friend. Just say sorry to her when she gets back. I'm sure she'll understand. I mean, she's Acquila. She has even forgiven Malfoy loads of times; I'm sure she'll understand," grinned Ron.

"I'm not waiting till she's back. I'm writing to her. I'll tell her I'm sorry, and tell her to come back. I know, she left because of me...because of what I said..."

"Oh! So that's what you're writing!"

"That's what I'm _trying_ to write," groaned Harry, pointing to the discarded letters. "I don't know what to write... I mean... What do I even say?"

"Just say that you're sorry you were a prat," smirked Ron.

"Do you...you think she's at Malfoy's Manor?"

"Whoa! I dunno, mate. She might have...no, no. I doubt she went there. Malfoy's dad killed her mother's family. Why would she go there?"

"She's friends with Malfoy, Ron. And I know she wouldn't have told Dora and her family about this. They're out with Dora's grandmother who is ill. Where else would she go?"

"Why don't you just ask her that first? Just write to her asking her where she is. I'm sure she'll reply. She must be just as miserable as you've been...remember she tried to talk to you at breakfast that day..."

"Don't remind me, Ron. I should never have accused her of hiding stuff from me. I was just...just so angry. And I blamed her for..."

"It's alright, Harry. I'm sure she'll understand. Now send her the letter, and then let's go down for breakfast. I'm hungry."

Harry nodded and a few minutes later, walked to the Owlery with Ron, intending to send the letter with Hedwig.

...

Acquila sat by the window in Mrs. Smith's room. The older lady had told Acquila that she could use her room, rather than staying in her old dormitory with the other girls, knowing that Acquila would have wanted to be alone. She sat reading the book on pure-blood families. If she was going to attend the ball, Acquila wanted to know everything there was to know about the people who would be attending it. She was going to be prepared. She stared at the names in the Black family tree, noting that most Blacks were named for stars or constellations. The book unfortunately contained families only till the early 1940s. So she couldn't read about her father or Andromeda in the book. It was the same book she had read before the Ministry hearing, but this time she was reading it in greater detail. As she read about Arcturus Black, a tapping at the window garnered her attention.

"Hedwig!" she exclaimed, opening the window and letting the owl in.

The owl hooted, and nipped Acquila's finger affectionately, and then perched itself on her table.

Acquila gently took the letter from the owl and opened it.

_Acquila,_

_I'm sorry for what I said. Where are you?_

_Harry_

She reread the short letter and then kept it aside, fuming inwardly.

Sorry? Sorry? That's all he had to say? After his baseless tirade against her, after telling her that he hated her, all he had to say was Sorry?

"Prat!" she muttered under her breath as the owl looked at her questioningly.

She handed the owl a cookie, which Hedwig first looked at dubiously and then ate it, and then told the owl, "Go back. I have nothing to say to him."

Hedwig hooted indignantly.

"I don't want to talk to him," Acquila snapped, and Hedwig flew away after an angry hoot.

As Acquila glanced at the flying owl, she regretted snapping at the bird. She was angry with Harry, not the poor owl.

Harry! What was he even thinking? A simple sorry wouldn't erase all that he had said that day. A small voice at the back of her mind chided her for being childish. She knew how bad Harry was at expressing his innermost feelings. And she was sure that the short letter he had sent her was the product of at least an hour of thinking and discarded letters. But she couldn't forgive him this easily. She wouldn't. If it was someone like Draco who had said what Harry had, she would have forgiven him; because Draco hadn't known her as well as Harry did. Draco wasn't her best friend and confidante. Harry was. And that made Harry's outburst that night, all the more painful; and unforgivable.

She knew she was probably being stubborn, and immature. She wondered wryly whether she had got her stubborn streak from her father. But no matter what, she wouldn't forgive Harry this easily. Deep down, she even wondered whether she would ever be able to trust Harry again.

After half an hour of thinking of Harry, she sighed and went back to reading her book.

...

"Hedwig! Where's her reply?" Harry asked his owl as she came back empty-handed.

'Hoot!' said Hedwig, glaring at Harry angrily, and then proceeded to nip his finger harshly.

"Ouch! That hurt!" exclaimed Harry. "What's the matter with you, Hedwig?"

"I reckon Hedwig is channeling Acquila's anger, mate. Looks like Acquila is still mad at you, so she didn't reply," said Ron, laughing at Harry nursing his finger.

"Hey!" retorted Harry, throwing his pillow at Ron. "I did say sorry to her!"

"But didn't seem like a sorry was enough for her to reply, did it?"

"What am I supposed to do then?" groaned Harry.

"She's a girl, mate. They think differently than blokes."

"You aren't helping, Ron," Harry glared at the redhead.

"Don't expect me to fathom how Acquila's mind works, Harry. Shouldn't you know that better?"

"I guess I'll send a longer apology. She could at least have told me where she is. I'm sure she's at Malfoys house," said Harry dejectedly.

"Bloody Malfoy! Keeps poking his bigoted nose into our business," grumbled Ron, but then suddenly, his face broke out into a large grin.

"Let's bombard her with letters! We'll go to the Owlery and keep sending her letter after letter. How long will she be able to ignore the owls?" smirked Ron.

"That sounds good! And she won't ignore me for long, will she? I mean, she will forgive me, right? She can't ignore me forever, can she?" asked Harry skeptically, and Ron could see the worry beneath his voice.

"No, mate. You're her best friend. She'll get over it soon. I'm sure even she spent the last couple of days brooding, like you did," he assured Harry, and followed him to the Owlery with a wad of parchment and a few quills.

...

An hour later, Acquila sat with Mrs. Smith; the older lady was braiding Acquila's long hair. Ophelia Smith had been a resident teacher at the Orphanage since her husband had passed away. And she loved all the orphaned kids, and tried to provide them with motherly affection. But out of all the kids she had brought up, she had a soft corner for Acquila.

She knew that Acquila wasn't like other kids. When Acquila had been brought to the orphanage when she was just a fifteen month-old baby, Mrs. Smith had seen strange things happening around the child. Certain toys would go zooming towards the girl; and once she had even seen a doll dancing in front of Acquila! At first, Mrs. Smith had been thoroughly frightened, wondering what was wrong with the girl. But as time passed, she knew that Acquila was a special girl. It was almost like she was magical; though Mrs. Smith knew that magic did not exist. On seeing the other children keeping away from Acquila, Ophelia Smith had grown even closer to the girl; she was like a daughter to her.

And she knew that Acquila's reluctance to talk about her school in detail had something to do with her strange abilities. Just as she finished braiding her hair, Mrs. Smith heard a series of taps on the window, only to shriek out loud on seeing that it was a large barn owl.

"Eeeee! It's an owl!" she shouted out.

"Don't be scared, Mrs. Smith. It won't harm you," said Acquila, as the older lady saw Acquila advance towards the owl, which to Mrs. Smith's immense astonishment, was carrying a letter in its talons.

"Don't go towards it, child! It might harm you!"

"It won't! Don't worry," said Acquila, gently retrieving the letter from the owl.

"It's not paper! It's parchment!" gasped Mrs. Smith, on looking at the yellowing parchment in Acquila's hands.

"Umm… I know you're wondering what's happening…but I really can't tell you…" stammered Acquila, mentally cursing Harry for sending the letter.

"Holy Christ! There's another owl coming!" exclaimed Mrs. Smith, pointing towards the window.

"Oh my!" groaned Acquila.

"It's…it's alright, child. You carry on… I'll… I'll come back in some time," said Mrs. Smith, departing the room, her mind still not able to believe what her eyes had seen.

Acquila sighed in annoyance. She did not like to hide things from her teacher; but now she knew that Mrs. Smith's mind would be abound with questions- questions which Acquila could never reply to, for fear of violating the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. Her thoughts were interrupted, as she saw not one, not two, but nine owls flying towards her window. The last one was Hedwig. The other owls departed after dropping the letters on the bed. But Hedwig, stood perched on her shoulder, and Acquila knew that this time, she wouldn't leave without a reply from Acquila. The girl muttered mutinously under her breath, and then proceeded to open the letters.

_Acquila,_

_Why aren't you replying to me? I am really sorry._

_Harry_

**_Dear Acquila,_**

**_Please do reply to Harry. He's driving me nuts with his brooding over your fight since the past two days. And I hope you aren't at the git Malfoy's house._**

**_Ron_**

_Acquila,_

_I know I was a jerk. I shouldn't have said what I said to you that night. Please forgive me._

_Harry._

**_Acquila,_**

**_I forgot to tell you. I don't blame you for Scabber's death. It wasn't your fault; though I still blame your stupid cat._**

**_Ron_**

_Acquila,_

_Are you at Malfoy's place? At least tell me where you are. Hedwig won't leave without your reply. Please forgive me. Come on, I know I was wrong._

_Harry_

_Acquila, _

_I know your father is innocent. Dumbledore told me. I should have listened to you; but my anger got the better of me. I am really sorry. _

_Harry_

Most of the letters said the same thing. But Acquila was in no mood to reply. Dumbledore told Harry that her father was innocent- which meant that if Dumbledore hadn't told him, Harry would have never ever tried to make amends with her. And what was the prat thinking? He actually thought she would go to Malfoy Manor? And why on earth had he sent her so many owls? But no matter what, she wasn't going to forgive Harry this easily.

She saw Hedwig hooting indignantly at her, and sighed. She took a piece of paper and a Muggle pen from Mrs. Smith's table, and started writing. She gave the letter to Hedwig, and sent her away; only to cringe in annoyance when she saw a few more owls flying towards her.

...

"Harry! Look! Hedwig is back!" exclaimed Ron, pointing towards the window in the dormitory, as they were getting ready to go to bed.

The owl flew towards Harry and dropped the letter onto his head, and then flew off with an angry hoot. Harry knew, that she was probably tired, having flown over a long distance.

"Open the letter, mate! What has she written?"

**Mr. Potter,**

**You think a simple sorry is going to make me forget all that you said? You said I belonged to a family of criminals! You said I belonged to the Malfoys! And you refused to believe me when I told you that my father is innocent! You are apologizing only because Dumbledore told you that my father isn't guilty; or you wouldn't even have wanted to talk to me! I don't want to talk to you! And don't you send me any more letters!**

**And I'm not going to tell you where I am! It's none of your concern. **

**And what is wrong with you? Why on earth are you bombarding me with owls? If I get one more owl from you, I won't talk to you even when I come back to school!**

**Miss Black**

**P.S.- Tell Ron that I am glad he doesn't blame me for Scabbers' death; though I still stand by my cat, who I am sure is not guilty of having killed his rat. And as far as him having to tolerate your brooding is concerned, I commiserate with him; and sincerely hope he doesn't go nuts! **

Harry groaned in defeat.

"I reckon we shouldn't send her any more letters, mate," said Ron sheepishly.

"I didn't write to her because Dumbledore told me about her father! I would have written to her anyway! I knew I was wrong long before I spoke to Dumbledore!" said Harry indignantly.

"I know, Harry."

"I'm writing to her!"

"Don't! She's already mad at you, don't annoy her further."

"But I'm sure she's at Malfoy's house!"

"But there's nothing we can do about it, mate. Just let her be. I am sure she'll calm down once she comes back to Hogwarts."

"But I don't want to wait till she's back," groaned Harry. "I want to meet her. I can't stand her being mad at me! And she's at Malfoy's place! Malfoy! I hate him!"

"I hate him too. But we can't do anything about it! And what if she's somewhere else? She hasn't confirmed that she's at Malfoy Manor, has she? Go to sleep, Harry," said Ron, as Harry made to speak further. "We'll find a way out tomorrow. But now, just go to sleep. And for Merlin's sake, do not send her another letter. She seems really angry…"

"She is angry. She called me Mr. Potter. She didn't even refer to me as Harry…"

"Don't worry, Harry. Let's go to sleep now. Please."

Harry reluctantly agreed with Ron, and fell into an uneasy sleep.

...

_The next morning,_

Acquila sighed, as Mrs. Smith called out to her, telling her that Remus was waiting for her. She did not want to go to Malfoy Manor. Of course, she wanted to meet Draco, but the thought of seeing Lucius Malfoy angered her immensely. But she knew that Dumbledore and Remus were right. If she didn't go for the ball, then Narcissa could very well exercise her right as her guardian to take her to the Manor. And if she involved the Ministry, then things would worsen.

Acquila going to the ball on her own was a much better option for all those involved. She took her bag, which contained some money, a change of clothes and the gown which Narcissa had sent her for Christmas, and went down to the reception of the orphanage where Remus was waiting for her. Mrs. Smith kissed her goodbye and then, Acquila and Remus started walking towards the gate.

"You have travelled by portkey before, haven't you?" Remus asked her, taking out an old handkerchief from his pocket.

"Yes, I have; when I went to Diagon Alley with Professor McGonagall."

"Good! Hold on to this handkerchief and we'll be there in no time."

Acquila held the handkerchief and a few seconds later, she felt a tug at her navel and they were standing right outside the gates of Malfoy Manor. There were hedges all around the gate, so the Manor wasn't clearly visible. Just as Acquila was about to touch the gates they vanished into smoke. Acquila flinched in shock.

"I think they know you are here. You go in," Remus said.

"You aren't coming in?"

"No. I should go. Take care of yourself. I'll come to pick you up after the ball," he smiled and disapparated.

"Bye," she said, but Remus had already left.

She entered the magnificent garden and right in front of her, was a handsome Manor. Never before, had she seen a house this huge. She stared at it in open-mouthed awe; and then glanced at the white peacocks which stood near the Fountain.

As she walked closer to the Manor, she saw Narcissa waiting at the door.

"I'm glad you decided to come, Acquila," Narcissa said, as Acquila reached the entrance to the Manor.

Acquila nodded her head in reply and looked around the Manor as they entered the drawing room.

The drawing room was really huge. There was a big fire place; ornate furniture was perfectly placed around the room and numerous portraits of many generations of blonde Malfoys looked down at her, most of them staring at her haughtily. There was a marble staircase leading up to the rooms above and one leading down to the dungeons.

It was then that Acquila saw Lucius sitting in a velvet armchair, reading the Daily Prophet.

"Lucius, Acquila is here," Narcissa said to him.

The Malfoy patriarch looked up from the Prophet. "Ms. Black," he drawled in greeting.

She said nothing to him in reply, only inclining her head slightly at him.

Suddenly, Draco came running down the staircase in full speed and hugged Acquila tightly.

"I knew you would come!" he exclaimed, as she hugged him in return.

"Draco!"Lucius said furiously, "This is no way for the Malfoy heir to behave. Where are your pure-blood manners? Have you not learnt anything? If you behave like this again you will not be allowed to attend the Ball. Is that understood?" His cold eyes looked into Draco's threateningly.

Draco looked down in shame, not knowing what to say.

"I asked you something! Is that understood?" he demanded of his son.

"Yes, father," Draco said, his pale face gaining an embarrassed, red tint.

Narcissa broke the silence. "Let me show you your room," she said, looking at Acquila.

"Dobby!" Narcissa called out and Acquila looked at her, confused. Suddenly, a house-elf apparated right in front of them.

"Mistress call Dobby?" he said and then gasped as he noticed Acquila standing next to Narcissa.

"The Heiress of the House of Black! You is the friend of the great Harry Potter!" he exclaimed, bowing deeply to Acquila; as his long ears touched the floor when he bowed.

"You…you don't need to bow to me," Acquila said smiling at Dobby; noticing the expression on the faces of all the three Malfoys as the elf mentioned Harry.

"Dobby is a house-elf. He is supposed to bow to his masters and his master's guests," Lucius Malfoy said in a drawling voice. "And he is not supposed to mention Harry Potter," he glared threateningly at the elf, who whimpered in fear.

Acquila had read about house elves, but this was the first time she had seen one. Her initial shock at his appearance had disappeared on seeing how polite the elf was. Just as she was about to reprimand Lucius or his rudeness towards the elf, Narcissa ordered Dobby,"Take Ms. Black's bag to her room."

"Dobby is doing as Mistress says," Dobby said, picking up the trunk and disapparating.

Narcissa guided Acquila to her room, closely followed by Draco. When they reached the room, Acquila saw that her bag was already placed there.

The room was very huge; it was bigger than the Gryffindor Common room. There was a huge fluffy bed in the middle of the room, a big dressing table, a door that led to the bathroom that seemed to be almost the size of her dormitory at Hogwarts and a walk-in closet. She stared at the room in wonder.

"You can select any colour for your room, as long as it isn't red and gold. You just let Dobby know and he will do it for you," Draco said happily, rousing her from her amazement of the room.

Acquila just nodded her head.

"I still have some preparations left for the Ball tonight. Draco will explain the rest to you," Narcissa said and left the room.

"I am so happy you came! We are going to have so much fun. Come on, I'll show you around the Manor," exclaimed Draco.

"Umm… Can you show me later? I am a bit tired now," Acquila said.

"Okay. Why don't you rest for some time? You need to look fresh for the Ball. I'll show you around later."

She smiled at him.

"And if you need anything, call out to Dobby and he'll come immediately," Draco said before departing.

After Draco left, Acquila sat down on her bed. Thoughts about Harry and his apology letters came rushing to her. She was still angry with Harry but she knew deep down that he was really sorry. Should she have replied to his questions? But he shouldn't have said all that to her, especially after he assured her that he would never leave her side no matter what. Harry had broken her heart and their friendship and apology letters weren't going to mend it. But then, she remembered Remus' words about friendship and forgiveness.

And thinking of Remus, brought along thoughts of her father. And the dog which somehow reminded her of her father.

She sighed. She did not want to be at the Manor. How she wished she was at Dora's house. Dora! Aunt Andromeda! How had she forgotten to ask Andromeda whether she knew of Sirius and the Potters' betrayal! She took out a piece of parchment from her bag, intending to write a letter to her aunt. But how would she send her the letter? She would have to borrow Draco's owl.

Just as she was about to write, she heard Draco come in.

"It's time for lunch! Come on!"

"I am not hungry, Draco."

"Oh, come on, Acquila. How can you not be hungry?"

"I am really not hungry," she lied, not wanting to tell him that the real reason she did not want to go down for luch, was as she wanted to avoid his father.

Draco sat beside Acquila on her bed. "What happened, Acquila? You seem sad."

"No. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

For a second, Acquila thought about telling him all about Harry. But she knew it would do her no good. He would be happy about her fight with Harry. He just wouldn't understand her.

"I am alright."

Draco nodded disbelievingly.

"I'll tell Dobby to bring up your lunch here. You eat it when you're hungry."

"Thanks, Draco," she grinned at him.

After Draco left, she started writing her letter to Andromeda. Just as she was folding the letter, Dobby popped in with her lunch.

"Lunch for Mistress Black. Dobby is glad to serve Mistress Black," Dobby said, placing the dishes on the table.

"Thank you, Dobby," said Acquila; only to be horrified on seeing tears in Dobby's eyes.

"What's the matter? Did I say something wrong? Why are you crying?" she asked, standing up and wondering how to console the elf.

"Mistress Black thank Dobby. No one thank Dobby. Master say Dobby bad elf. But Mistress Black thank Dobby. Dobby is honoured," Dobby wailed, looking at Acquila with adoration.

"Please stop crying, Dobby. And why are you so shocked at me thanking you?" Acquila asked the elf, as he tried to stop crying.

"Dobby is a house-elf. Nobody thank Dobby."

"The Malfoys don't treat you well?"

Dobby looked like he was in two minds after Acquila asked him that question. And then, he suddenly started pulling his ears and mumbling to himself.

"What's wrong Dobby?"

"Dobby not say bad things about his Masters and Mistress. But Dobby has to answer Mistress Black," he said, starting to bang his head on the wall.

"Stop! Dobby, stop!" Acquila shrieked, horrified at Dobby harming himself. "Don't answer me. It's okay. I got my answer."

"Thank you, Mistress."

"Dobby can you do one thing for me?" she asked him suddenly.

"Dobby do as Mistress wants. Dobby serve Mistress."

"I need you to deliver this letter to Andromeda Tonks," Acquila said, giving the neatly folded letter to Dobby. "And don't come back without a reply."

Dobby nodded his head, grinning widely, and disapparated with a pop.

Acquila looked at the variety of dishes at her table, but she didn't feel hungry at all, especially after the conversation with Dobby. She cringed at the thought of the Malfoys ill-treating Dobby; resolving to talk to Draco about the elf.

...

Andromeda sat at the private room which they had booked for her mother-in-law at the Muggle Hospital. If all went well, Ted's mother would be discharged from the Hospital today and they could all go home. She was alone in the room, waiting for the nurses to bring her mother-in-law back from the room where they had taken her to conduct some scan. Andromeda sighed. She and her husband were both healers at St. Mungos, and she knew they could have treated the ailing lady much sooner using magical means. But her mother-in-law was adamant at being treated at the Muggle hospital.

Suddenly, she heard a loud crack and she immediately turned around. It was a house-elf. She raised her wand towards the door and muttered a locking charm; thanking her stars that the room was devoid of muggles when the elf apparated in.

As she looked closely at the elf, she gasped in shock.

"You are the Malfoys' house-elf, aren't you?" she asked, and Dobby nodded his head in reply.

"Why has Narcissa sent you here? What does she want?" she demanded.

Dobby shook his head and said, "Dobby come to deliver a letter from Mistress Black. And Dobby be told to return with a reply."

"What? Acquila is at Malfoy Manor? " she exclaimed, taking the letter and opening it hastily.

_Dear Aunt Andromeda,_

_Did you know about my father being the secret-keeper for the Potters and that it was him who betrayed them? Dumbledore hid it from me all along. I found out on Christmas. I would like to know everything regarding it. I do not want any more secrets. So, if you know anything I don't know as yet, please do tell me._

_I hope Uncle Ted's mother is doing well. Please send your reply with Dobby._

_Love,_

_Acquila._

"Sweet Merlin!" Andromeda screamed, "Sirius betrayed the Potters! Unbelievable!"

There was a loud knock on the door of the room, and an 'Alohomora' later, Ted rushed into the room.

"What' s wrong…A house-elf!" he exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at Dobby.

"He's Cissy's house-elf," she muttered, not even realizing that she had referred to her sister by her pet name. She handed her husband the letter; and started scribbling the reply.

"This can't be true! Is she sure? Sirius loved the Potters," Ted exclaimed, looking shocked.

"I know. But Acquila wouldn' t have written to us, if she wasn't sure. What about mother?" she asked, referring to her mother-in-law.

"She's being discharged today. Stephen and Melissa will be taking her home with them," he said.

Andromeda sealed the letter and handed it to Dobby and the elf disappeared with a loud crack, just as Andromeda called out, "Dora! Come here. There is something we need to tell you."

...

After a few minutes, Dobby came back with a reply. Acquila opened the letter and started reading.

_Dear Acquila,_

_I had no idea that Sirius was the one who betrayed the Potters. And I am going to have a lengthy chat with Dumbledore about it._

_And what are you doing at the Malfoys? You are at the Manor, aren't you? You are not going to stay there a minute longer than required. I am coming to pick you up after the Ball. And I hope you will spend the rest of the holidays with us, since we're back from tending to Ted's mother._

_Love,_

_Aunt Andromeda._

"Thank you so much, Dobby!" she said as she jumped in delight. Andromeda had hidden nothing from her! And she was going to spend the rest of the holidays with Dora!

She wrote Andromeda a hasty reply that she would be glad to spend the rest of the holidays with them, and sent the letter with Dobby. Feeling suddenly ravenous, Acquila quickly ate some of the lunch Dobby had brought for her, and then lay down on the bed, thinking about visiting the Tonks. She was glad to finally have something to look forward to. And she could finally tell Dora all about her argument with Harry.

A knock on the door, roused Acquila from her happy thoughts.

"Hey! Up for a game of chess?"

It was Draco.

"Why not?" she smiled as Draco called out to Dobby and ordered him to bring them his chess set. The Chess players were carved ornately, and they did not scream like Ron's players. On the contrary, they spoke with a drawl; reminiscent of Lucius. She engrossed herself in the game, happier than she had been in the past two days.

...

_Meanwhile, the same morning, _

"Fred! George! Wake up," Ron yelled, shaking both of them; as Harry stood behind him with a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand, which Ron had taken from Percy.

"Go away, Ron," Fred groaned

"Holidays are still on, Ron! I wanna sleep!" George added.

"Wake up! We need your help to sneak out of Hogwarts! " Harry said exasperated, when the twins refused to wake up.

"We're in!" Fred and George said in unison, suddenly wide awake.

The four of them creeped down to the common room, and started discussing their plan.

"Why do you want to sneak out?"

" I need to get to Malfoy Manor to meet Acquila."

"She's at Malfoy Manor?"exclaimed Fred.

"Yeah! Look at this- Black Heiress to be introduced to wizarding society at the Malfoy Manor," Ron snatched the newspaper from Harry and read out the headline.

"Oh! So, the brave knight wants to…"

"Rescue his lovely lady…"

"From the villainous Malfoy heir?"

"Cut out the histrionics, guys! Can you take us to Malfoy Manor?" Ron interrupted them, half-hoping they'd say no. He did not like the idea of going to Malfoy's lair at all.

"Of course we can," Fred said with a mock-wounded expression. "There's nothing George and I can't do…"

"Especially when it involves sneaking out of the castle…"

Ron and Harry had identical wide grins on their faces.

"We're coming with you!" said Fred.

"The Malfoys won't forget this day till they die," George smirked, rubbing his hands gleefully, thinking of all the pranks they would play at the Manor.

"Yes, bro! It's going to be legendary," Fred put in.

"Stop planning pranks. I just want to talk to Acquila! We aren't going there to play pranks," Harry interjected, breaking them out of their daydream.

"Don't worry, Harry," Fred assured.

"We'll take you to the Manor to meet your lady love. What pranks we play there, is up to us," George exclaimed; as both of them winked simultaneously.

Suddenly, Percy came into the common room.

"Whom are you planning to prank now? And involving Harry and Ron in it too? You should be ashamed! I am the prefect and I will not allow any of this."

"It's the holidays Perce," said Fred, as Ron turned red.

"Don't be so uptight, Perfect Prefect," said George.

Percy sat right next to them, and seemed to have no intention of leaving them. So the four of them exited the Common Room, on the pretext of having breakfast.

The twins led them into an empty classroom.

"How do we get out of Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"We know a few secret passages!"

"We'll take the one leading to Hogameade."

"And how do we get to Malfoy Manor?" Ron asked.

"We take the Knight Bus!" The twins said together.

"What's a Knight Bus?" Harry asked confused.

"It's a public bus for transporting wizards."

"We just have to stick our wand hand out and it will come to pick us up."

"It will take us where ever we want to go."

Suddenly the door of the classroom banged open and Snape came barging in.

"What is going on here?" he said in his cold voice. "Imbecile Gryffindors planning to sneak out of the castle? All four of you are coming with me to the Headmaster's office. You are all going to be expelled."

Fred and George followed Snape out, looking visibly upset that couldn't go ahead with the plan. But Ron and Harry were fearful; sure they were going to be expelled.

"Potter! You think you can do anything just because you are 'the boy who lived'? Let's see what the headmaster has to say about this," Snape sneered at Harry, who tried his best not to show how scared he was.

"And the Weasleys! Always present where breaking school rules is concerned," he sneered at the three red-heads.

"Twenty points each from Gryffindor. As for the rest, it's for the Headmaster to handle."

Snape muttered the password to the gargoyles, and the five of them ascended the spiral staircase. Ron and Harry stared at their surroundings in awe, while Fred and George who had been to the Headmaster's office previously, for playing pranks, were engrossed in a whispered conversation.

"Come in," said Dumbledore, just as Snape was about to knock on the door.

"Ah! Mr. Potter! And the Weasleys! What's the matter, Severus?"

"These kids were planning to escape from the castle, to go to Malfoy Manor," said Snape, an evil glint in his eyes.

The Headmaster's brow furrowed momentarily, and then, he spoke, "Ronald, Frederick and George Wealsey, kindly go to Professor McGonagall. She is your head of house, and will hand out the punishment which your deed deserves."

"Sir… What about Harry?" sputtered Ron.

"I will talk to Mr. Potter," replied Dumbledore, and the three Weasleys recognized their dismissal and departed.

"Why do yo wish to go to Malfoy Manor, Harry?" asked Dumbledore, as Harry was busy thinking of ways to stop the Headmaster from expelling him.

"I…I want to meet Acquila, Sir."

"Potter and Black! Menace to the school, just like their fathers," said Snape.

"Severus," Dumbledore said, in a warning tone.

"Why the urgency to meet her, Harry?"

"I… I want to apologise to her, Sir."

"Severus will be taking you to the Manor," smiled Dumbledore, as Harry gasped in astonishment. As Harry looked at Snape, he saw mutinous look on the generally expressionless Potions Professor's visage.

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why was Dumbledore allowing Harry to go to meet Acquila? And that too at Malfoy Manor! And Snape would take him there? Snape of all people!

A cold voice brought Harry out of his thoughts.

"Why would I escort Potter to Malfoy Manor?" asked Snape, and Harry knew that he was inwardly seething.

"I don't want..." Harry started to protest against having to go with Snape, but stopped midsentence, as Dumbledore interrupted him.

"You _will_ go there with Professor Snape, Harry. Severus has been invited to the Ball. Now off you go to Minerva. We can't have you going to the Ball in muggle clothes, can we? Minerva will tell you what you ought to wear."

As Harry turned to leave, Snape glared at Dumbledore.

"You won't even hand him detention?"

Harry paused in his tracks, turning around to face the Professors, hating Snape for wanting him punished, though he knew that he probably did deserve it.

"I am sure you did deduct points from Gryffindor, Severus. And it's a festive season. I think deducting points is more than enough as a punishment. I am sure Harry will not attempt anything similar again, am I right, Harry?" asked Dumbledore, smiling slyly.

"Sir, I won't," he said and then hesitated.

"You wish to say something?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Can Fred, George and Ron come with me, Sir?"

"I am afraid not, Harry," said the headmaster, just as Snape opened his mouth to retort rudely.

"Can you at least not give the Weasleys detention? They were trying to help me, Sir. I am at fault, not them"

"You are as noble as your father was, Harry. I will see to it, that they do not get detention, since you aren't getting any as well," smiled Dumbledore as Harry smiled and exited the room.

"What is wrong with you?" thundered Snape. "Why would I take Potter to the Ball? And you are too lenient with him, just like you were with his father. Twenty points deducted! That's all he gets for trying to escape the Castle?"

"He _needs_ to meet Acquila and end their feud at the earliest, Severus. And Lucius is well-acquainted with you. I am sure you can make your excuses for bringing Harry along with you to his Manor."

"I need to maintain appearances before the people who have been invited to the Ball, Albus," said Snape, referring to the Death-eaters, "I cannot take Potter there. And what if they try to harm him? They all know he vanquished the Dark Lord."

"They won't. Lucius won't harm Harry before his guests; and he has nothing to gain by harming Harry, now that Voldemort is no more in his physical form. And that's exactly why I want you to take him to the Ball. Nobody will harm Harry in the presence of people like Amelia."

Snape nodded grudgingly, and then asked, "What do you mean by he _needs_ to meet Black's daughter at the earliest? You aren't telling me something," he said accusingly.

"I will tell you when the right time comes, Severus."

Snape said nothing for a minute, and then said, "Are you insinuating that there is some kind of connection between the two?"

"Ah! I wonder why you weren't put in Ravenclaw, Severus," Dumbledore smiled, with a twinkle in his eyes, as Snape departed, knowing Dumbledore would tell him nothing more, mentally cursing the old wizard's eccentricities and secretive nature.

...

"What happened?"

"You got expelled?"

"Did you get detention?"

Three voices questioned Harry simultaneously, as he stepped into the portrait hole.

"I'm going to Malfoy Manor!"

"What?" exclaimed Ron, shocked, while the twins cheered.

"Yeah. And guess who is taking me there," said Harry, gloomily.

"McGonagall?" said George.

"Dumbledore?" put in Ron.

"Flitwick?" asked Fred, smirking.

"No. Snape," groaned Harry.

"Blimey!" exclaimed Ron, as the twins let out a string of curses.

"But how can you go..."

"With the greasy git?"

"Harry, come here," said Ron, dragging Harry to a corner of the room, much to the twins' chagrin.

"You can't go with him, mate! You know he's...he's not exactly good, is he?" said Ron, wanting to remind Harry about their suspicions about Snape jinxing Harry's broom.

"He's an evil..." said a voice behind Ron, startling him.

"Hook-nosed..."

"Overgrown..."

"Bat..." put in the twins, who had sneakily followed Harry and Ron to the corner of the room.

"They're right, Harry. And we're coming with you. We don't trust Malfoy," said Ron, glaring at the twins for interrupting him.

"Nor his father," said Fred menacingly, remembering what Arthur had told them about Lucius.

"But you can't come," said Harry gloomily. "I asked Dumbledore if I could take you guys along as well, but he refused. And he assured me that Snape would take care of me," he snorted, "As if he would ever willingly care for me. You should have seen the look on his face when Dumbledore said that I wouldn't be expelled. I thought he would strangle me there and then."

"Is that what took you so long? You came back after almost half an hour after we were back from McGonagall's office."

"No. After the talk with Dumbledore, I went to McGonagall. Since I'm going for the Ball, she has ordered dress robes for me. I told her to take the money from my vault and..."

Fred and George whistled together, interrupting Harry.

"Ickle Harry is attending the Malfoys' Ball..." said Fred.

"In dress robes!" completed George, clapping Harry on his back.

"I don't even want to go for the stupid Ball. I just want to meet Acquila..."

"Aww," said the twins in unison, "Lovers' tiff."

"Enough, guys!" said Ron, noticing Harry's worried expression.

"Harry, you can still decide not to go. You can talk to her when she's back, mate. Going to Malfoy's house, with Snape...you don't need to..."

"No, Ron. I have to go. She won't reply to my letters. And I can't wait till she's back to school. And she's at Malfoy's house! Merlin knows what he must have told her about me..." he faltered.

"Acquila is not someone who gets easily influenced by other's opinion, Harry. So you don't need to worry about what Malfoy tells her about you..."

"But I'm going," said Harry, with a determined glint in his eyes.

"Will you at least play some of the pranks we planned?" asked George, as Harry grinned at him.

...

An hour later, Draco and Acquila heard a knock on the door.

"It's time for you to get ready for the Ball," said Narcissa, entering the room.

"Draco, Dobby has your dress robes ready in your room," she said to Draco, who winked at Acquila and departed.

Acquila took out the gown from her trunk, moving towards the bathroom to change. But then she stopped, "The gown isn't my size," she said.

"It's a Black heirloom, Acquila. It's magical. It adjusts itself to fit the witch who wears it. She said, and with a wave of her wand, the gown which was in Acquila's hand had disappeared and appeared onto her body; while the clothes she had worn earlier lay on the bed.

Acquila almost thought that Narcissa had smiled at seeing her in the gown, but then dismissed the thought. As far as Acquila knew, Narcissa Malfoy never smiled.

"This is the first time that you will be introduced to pure-blood wizarding society. And you should look your best. I will be doing your hair," Narcissa said, guiding her to the dressing table.

Acquila wanted to leave her hair open, but she went with Narcissa's wish to pin up her hair.

As Acquila sat on the chair in front of the antique mirror; Narcissa started brushing her long, black locks of hair.

"Your hair is just like Bella's," Narcissa said suddenly.

"You mean your sister, Bellatrix?" asked Acquila, remembering Dora mentioning her, a couple of times.

"Isn't she in Azkaban?" Acquila asked, wanting to know more Bellatrix, who wasn't mentioned in the books which Acquila had read; though she was certain that the witch had been a Death-eater.

"Yes," Narcissa said with a hint of sadness in her voice which she was quick to hide.

"What did she do to be in Azkaban?"

"No more questions, Acquila! I need to concentrate on your hair. It needs to be perfect," Narcissa replied sternly, the softness in her voice had all but disappeared.

Acquila thought it prudent not to pry more. Narcissa started pinning up her hair strand by strand. After her hair was set, Narcissa took out an emerald hair clip from one of the jewellery boxes, and slid it into her hair.

She then stared at Acquila's reflection in the mirror for a long moment and then said grudgingly, "You are indeed very beautiful. You seem to have inherited the best of Black features; especially your eyes."

Acquila did not know how to react to that, and muttered a soft thank you.

Narcissa then handed her a pair of emerald earrings and a silver chain for the pendant which Draco had gifted her for Christmas.

"Finish wearing these while I get ready. The guests will be arriving soon. And don't come down till I send for you. You will be introduced to everyone after all the guests have arrived. And do behave yourself in front of them. They are among the richest and most respected pure-blood families in Britain," Narcissa said sternly.

"I am the Heiress of the House of Black. I am sure I have inherited the social skills of my ancestors," said Acquila dryly. "And don't worry you won't have to bear me for long. I will be going to Aunt Andromeda's house, after the Ball."

"You can't go there. You have to stay till the holidays are over. I will not allow it," Narcissa said, her face emotionless, but her voice seemed to be laced with anger.

"I am going. I have a right to spend my Christmas holidays with whoever I want," said Acquila indignantly.

Narcissa's retort died on her lips as she thought over the matter. Acquila would be staying with them during the Summer vacations anyway. And there was every possibility of Acquila softening her stand towards them, if she allowed her to go to Andromeda's house. And then there was the matter of Acquila being quite capable of bad-mouthing the Malfoys in front of the assembled guests if she did not have her way. Perhaps, allowing her to go to Andromeda's place would be prudent. Acquila could have her way now, but for the summer holidays, she would _have _to stay at the Manor. Draco would be upset with Narcissa's decision, but she was sure she could make him understand.

"You may go. But you will be spending your summer vacation here, with us," she said and left her room.

Acquila agreed, inwardly sure that she would think of a way out of her guardianship before school ends.

Acquila wore the pendant and earrings and looked at herself in the mirror, shuddering as she looked like a complete Slytherin from head to toe. But she did admit, at the rish of sounding vain, that she did indeed look prettier than she had ever seen herself.

After a few minutes, Acquila could hear the guests gathering in the Malfoy's massive Ballroom, which had been decorated by Dobby. Soon, she heard footsteps coming towards her room.

Narcissa entered her room, looking elegant as ever. She looked like the perfect hostess.

"Follow me," she said curtly and guided Acquila to the staircase leading to the ballroom.

Acquila gasped involuntarily as she saw the large number of wizards and witches who were standing below, all now looking directly at her; along with a number of photographers who seemed to belong to various Wizarding magazines and newspapers.

"Wizards and Witches! I would like to introduce to you the Heiress of the Houses of Black and Gamp and the Head of the House of McKinnon, my niece and ward, Acquila Dorea Black," Narcissa said in a majestic voice that echoed through the entire room.

Acquila walked down the staircase as she was told to, smiling nervously at the people in the room. She quickly realised that she did not like the attention at all, and wished for it to be over soon.

Narcissa guided her through the ballroom to meet all the Wizarding families personally.

Acquila met the Yaxleys, the Averys and the Carrows; all of whom seemed extremely scary to her.

Horace Slughorn who claimed to have taught both her parents, was very eager to take a photograph with her to add to his hall of fame.

She also met the Shafiqs, the Selwyns, the Rosiers and the Notts, of whom Theodore who was in her year was acting as if they were long-lost friends. She then went on to meet the McDougals, the Goyles and the Crabbes; Gregory and Vincent were nowhere to be seen, and Acquila twas certain that they could be probably be somewhere near the tables which were laden with food.

Next, she met the Greengrass family. Daphne who was in her year, and her younger sister Astoria kept praising her gown and jewellery.

Suddenly, Acquila heard an excited squeal behind her.

"Acquila! You are looking so pretty!" exclaimed Lavender Brown, who had come with her parents. "Isn't that the dress you received for Christmas? It's so elegant!"

Despite Lavender's discussion on Dress robes and jewellery, which Acquila was least interested in, Acquila was glad to meet Lavender, someone she knew and could talk to.

They then moved on to the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who looked like he had already downed four glasses of the elf-made wine, which Dobby had been circulating among the guests.

She also met Amelia Bones and Susan, whom she was glad to meet.

At last, after what seemed like years of being introduced to people, Narcissa said,"There is one more person I'd like you to meet."

Narcissa nodded towards an old lady who was coming walking towards them.

"Cassiopeia Black."

...

_Meanwhile at Hogwarts,_

After bidding the Weasleys goodbye, Harry walked towards the Great hall, where he was supposed to wait for Snape. The Weasleys wanted to accompany him till the Great Hall, but Harry had refused, not wanting them to get into more trouble because of him.

Suddenly, he saw a majestic owl come flying towards him. He knew whom the owl belonged to. Andromeda.

He took the letter from the owl, as the owl waited for his reply.

_ Harry,_

_ We're coming back home. I would love for you to come home for The rest of the holidays._

_ I will come to pick you up at Hogwarts in the evening, if you're willing to come._

_ Do send a reply soon._

_ Aunt Andromeda._

Harry let out a whoop of joy. He could spend the rest of the holidays with the Tonks. But would Acquila be there as well? She wouldn't choose to stay with Malfoys, would she? Perhaps, he could convince her to come with him to Andromeda's house. He borrowed a quill from Percy, who was passing by, and scribbled a quick reply on the back of the parchment.

"Ah! The great Harry Potter," said a snide voice from behind him, just as the owl flew away. It was Snape, of course.

"Follow me, boy," he said gruffly, after a long moment of staring into Harry's green eyes.

"The headmaster may have let you off easily, without even a detention; but if you even try pulling any stunts at Malfoy Manor, I assure you, that you will be washing bed pans in the Hospital Wing till the end of your seventh year; without using magic," he sneered at Harry, who gulped fearfully. Snape scared him most of the times, especially when his cold, black eyes bored into Harry's menacingly. Snape hated him, Harry was sure of it. But why did he hate him? What had Harry even done to deserve such treatment from Snape, since the very start of the school year.

"You heard me, Potter? I expect a verbal acknowledgment," he said coldly.

"Yes... Yes, Sir," said Harry.

As they reached the end of the boundaries of Hogwarts, Harry could see the foul Dementors gliding by.

"The boy-who-lived, scared of Dementors?" smirked Snape, sensing Harry's unease. "You know why they are here, don't you? Out to give the Dementors' kiss to your Godfather," he sneered, knowing Harry knew of Sirius' innocence, but wanting to rile him further.

"He's innocent," said Harry indignantly. "Professor Dumbledore told me, he's innocent."

"Only time will tell, Potter," Snape spat at him. "Now hold on to this quill," said Snape, handing Harry an old writing quill.

"Huh?" responded Harry, wondering whether Snape was losing his mind.

"Hold on to this, boy. It's a portkey," commanded Snape.

"Portkey?" asked Harry.

"Oh yes! How would a dunderhead like you know what a portkey is?" Snape's smirk infuriated Harry immensely.

Harry held on to the quill, as Snape did the same, and the next moment, without any warning, he felt a tug in the region of his navel, and found himself stumbling and falling over, as soon as his feet touched the ground.

As he put on his glasses, which had fallen off when he stumbled, he saw Snape standing by his side. The potions professor seemed to have landed gracefully on his feet.

"My my! The saviour of our world can't even land properly on his feet," said Snape, the corners of his thin mouth stretching into a mean smirk.

As Harry struggled to stand up, his feet entangled in his now dusty dress robes, to his immense surprise, Snape extended his hand towards him, wanting to help him stand up.

Harry's astonishment was probably showing on his face, because Snape snarled impatiently, "My hand isn't going to keep waiting for you, Potter. Stand up and come along, or I will proceed to the Ball alone, leaving you to stand here in your dusty dress robes."

Harry hastily held Snape's hand and stood up, Snape letting go of it the minute Harry was steady on his feet. As Harry began to try to get the dust off him, Snape muttered what sounded like 'imbecile' under his breath and waved his wand, which caused the dust to disappear.

"You've wasted enough time. Now come on, Potter," spat Snape and dragged Harry behind him, holding by the scruff of his neck.

...

Acquila was surprised. She remembered reading Cassiopeia's name in the book of Pure-blood genealogy, but did not know that she was alive, thanks to the book concentrating on wizards than witches.

"I have been waiting to meet you since I knew that you were alive. It's nice to finally meet you," the lady said as she approached them.

Just then, someone called out to Narcissa and she left after excusing herself, leaving Acquila alone with Cassiopeia.

"I thought that my father and I were the only Blacks alive," she said, looking at her relative with awe. Cassiopeia, though very old now looked like someone who would have been very beautiful in her youth. Her hair, which had probably been jet black, was now almost white; and she seemed to have an inborn elegance, which reminded Acquila of Narcissa.

"No, my child. I am alive as well, though I don't think I have long to live."

Acquila knew not what to say, but then, she said, "May I ask you something?"

"You may, dear."

"How am I the Black heiress if.. umm.. you are still alive? I know that the fortune passes through the male line, but you are a daughter of the House of Black as well, aren't you?"

"I am. But, the only thing I inherited from the Black family fortune was the Black Manor. The rest of the fortune was inherited by the male descendants of the Blacks. And the only surviving one is Sirius. So you, being his daughter are the Black heiress."

"Oh! It's good to know I have a relative from the Black family, apart from the Malfoys and the Tonks."

"Likewise, dear. And the Black Manor will be yours after I am no more."

Just then Acquila heard Narcissa's voice.

"It's the time for the dance to begin. Acquila will open the dance, and the others may follow after her."

Acquila felt a wave of panic rush through her body.

"What is the matter, dear?" Cassiopeia asked.

"I have never danced before… I don't know how to," Acquila whispered.

"Don't worry. The boy you dance with, will lead. All you have to do is follow his lead. And the Blacks are always good at dancing, dear. It's an inborn trait," she smiled.

Just then, Marcus Flint came up to her and put his hand forward, "Acquila, you are looking extremely beautiful this evening. Slytherin colours suit you much better than Gryffindor colours," he said with a smirk.

"Thank you, but I prefer Gryffindor colours," Acquila said with a slight blush; not having had boys praise her beauty before today.

" I am sure you know me, I am the Slytherin Quidditch captain," he bragged.

"I do know you. Aren't you the one who purposely blocked Harry during the match," Acquila replied, a tad angrily.

Marcus' smile faltered a bit, but he quickly recovered and said, "I have noticed you at Hogwarts. You are always with the Potter boy. You are welcome to hang out with us."

"Thanks, but I can choose the company I wish to keep," she said.

Marcus' smile faltered again, but then, he held out his hand, and bowed slightly before her.

"May I have this dance?"

Before she could think of a way to refuse him politely, she saw Draco standing next to Marcus.

"Will you dance with me, Acquila?"

She smiled at him, and took his hand, muttering a not-so-heartfelt apology to Marcus.

Acquila and Draco stepped onto the dance floor. And as Draco started leading her, she realised that Cassiopeia was right. She did seem to have an inherent knack for dancing.

"Mother told me that you were leaving tonight. Please stay… at least for one more day," Draco told her softly as the song was about to come to an end.

Just as Acquila was about to reply, she could hear people whispering and staring at the entrance of the Ballroom; and the photographers seemed to be clicking their cameras madly. And suddenly, deep within her heart, she knew who it was, without even looking at who had entered.

As Draco twirled her around, still gazing into her eyes, waiting for a reply, she heard a voice behind her.

"Acquila?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** I just don't know how each chapter ends up getting longer than the previous one! I start out thinking the chapter will get over within 15k words, but it somehow ends up being much more than that. Anyway, let's get on with the chapter. Thanks to all those who have followed and added the story to their favourites and to those who reviewed it! Do let us know how you find this chapter :-)

**Theta-McBride**- Thanks! And yes! They do talk! ;-)

**Kida Night- **Yes! It's Harry! And I did intend for the James' part of Harry to stand out! ;-)

**Guest, Merida, Aimee, xxSunnyXBlackxx, dream lighting, A Frozen Shadow **- Thank you soooo much! Hope you like this one as well! :-)

**PotterHead999** - Thanks you! And Acquila sends her love ;-) :-P

And **LaMB-COW- **I am so completely in love with your reviews! And so is my friend who writes this fic with me! I loved each and every one of your reviews! And they put a big, big smile on my face! :-D I am glad you like the story! As for schools in UK, I don't know how they work as well, since I'm Indian. So I assumed that Acquila joins school at 8 years of age, with Dumbledore using some of his magic on the Muggles at the school and the Orphanage ;-) I hope you like this chapter as well! :-)

**Disclaimer:** Everything in the Harry Potter world belongs to J. K. Rowling. Recognisable parts in the latter part of this chapter are from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Chapter 14: Grim Detention**

"Acquila?"

Acquila turned around, knowing even before she saw him, that it was Harry.

"What are you doing here, Harry?" she asked him.

But Harry said nothing, as he stared at her in surprise. She was clad in a dark green gown, a silver chain, from which the emerald pendant -which he knew Draco had given her- dangled on her neck. Her hair was tied up in an elegant hairdo, and she seemed to carry herself with a strange poise, much like the pure-bloods who had gathered around.

"You're looking like a Slytherin!" he gasped involuntarily, even before realising that the words were out of his mouth.

"What?" she exclaimed, infuriated.

"No… I didn't mean that…I mean…" he sputtered, knowing he had annoyed her, and cursing his stupid mouth which seemed to have a mind of its own.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Draco spat at him.

"I'm here to talk to Acquila, Malfoy; not that it's any of your concern," Harry replied calmly, having already envisaged Draco's angry reaction.

"I don't want to talk to you, Mr. Potter," Acquila told Harry coldly.

"Oh, come on, Acquila! I am sorry; really sorry. I…"

"Why are you saying sorry to her? You hurt her, Potter? I knew something was wrong with Acquila; which is why she has been so upset since morning. What did you do to her?"

"Draco…" Acquila muttered, noticing that the three of them were attracting a lot of eye-balls.

"Stay out of this, Acquila. Let me handle Potter," Draco told her, sneering at Harry.

"You stay out of this, Malfoy. I wish to talk to Acquila, not you," Harry retaliated, throwing an annoyed glance at Draco, and a pleading one at Acquila.

"No, Scar-head..." started Draco menacingly, but a stern voice shut him up.

"Draco, why don't I introduce you to Mrs. Travers and her daughter," said Narcissa firmly, not wanting Draco to have an argument with the Boy-who-lived before the assembled guests and the photographers.

"Yes, Mother," said Draco and followed Narcissa, but not before whispering "I'll make you pay for this, Potter," to Harry.

Harry turned to talk to Acquila, only to see that she was already weaving her way through the assembled crowd. Just as Harry was about to follow an annoyed Acquila, he felt a soft tap at his shoulder.

"Harry Potter?"

He turned behind, and saw an elegant old lady. Something in her features reminded Harry of Acquila; perhaps it was the shape of her jaw, or her elegant cheek bones. But what intrigued Harry was the strange emotions which flickered in the witch's black eyes.

"Ye…yes?" he sputtered, realising that he had been gaping at the lady for the past few seconds, and she was looking at him expectantly, waiting for a reply.

"You look just like Charlus…and James. Except for your eyes; they seem to be inherited neither from the Potters, nor the Blacks," she said, her eyes boring into his green ones.

"I have my mother's eyes…that's what people tell me," he replied sheepishly, as the lady seemed to be searching his face for something.

"You look nothing like Dorea…" the lady muttered, more to herself than to Harry.

"Umm…do I…am I supposed to know you?" he blurted out, not knowing what to say to the lady's observations about him.

"I am Cassiopeia Black, your grandmother's sister," she said, smiling at him.

He stared at her, shell-shocked. Nobody had ever told him that he had relatives on his father's side. Of course, he knew that he was distantly related to Acquila and Dora; but he had no idea that his grandmother's sister was still alive. Cassiopeia motioned for Harry to follow her, and led him to a table, gesturing for him to take a seat opposite her. As Harry opened his mouth to question the lady further, he heard a high-pitched voice from beside him.

"Harry Potter Sir!"

As Harry looked towards the source of the voice, he almost let out a shriek of fright and shock; but controlled himself at the last moment, not wanting to attract any more attention that he already had.

"What….Who are you?" he blurted out, inching away involuntarily from the strange creature which stood beside his chair.

"I am Dobby, Sir. Dobby, the house elf."

Harry nodded at the Elf, as Dobby stood on his tip-toes and placed a glass of wine each before Harry and Cassiopeia.

Dobby then bowed deeply before Harry.

"Dobby is pleased to meet the Great Harry Potter! How honoured is Dobby to meet the savior of our world, Sir!" squeaked the elf, as the people around them turned to see what was happening.

"Uh…I am pleased to see you too, Dobby. Why don't you have a seat?" he said, out of politeness, and curiosity of wanting to know about the elf.

Dobby suddenly let out a high-pitched squeal which attracted the attention of each and every guest assembled in the Ballroom.

"Waaaahh! Harry Potter wants Dobby to sit! Like an equal!" cried Dobby.

"Yes, I do. But...what's wrong?" exclaimed Harry, wondering what was wrong with the elf; but the elf continued wailing. Harry glanced at all the people around, hoping someone would come forward and console the elf, but nobody did. He then looked at Cassiopeia for help, but she said nothing and stared at Harry and the elf with an amused gleam in her eyes.

"Did I offend you? Did I say something wrong?" Harry finally asked the elf, placing a hand on Dobby's shoulder.

"Something wrong? Offend Dobby? No, Sir! You ask Dobby to sit!"

"Ummm…yes, I did," muttered Harry, failing to understand the elf's strange behaviour.

"Dobby had heard of Harry Potter's greatness, Sir, but never of his goodness! Harry Potter is great, Sir! So noble! Nobody ever ask Dobby why Dobby cry…but Harry Potter Sir asking if Dobby is offended…"

"That will be enough, Dobby," said an extremely cold voice from behind Harry.

"Master Malfoy!" said Dobby in a shaky voice, and started whimpering.

"Get out of my sight this very instant or else…" Lucius Malfoy said in an extremely threatening manner, and before Harry could even glance back at the elf, Dobby had disappeared with a crack.

"Where did he go?" gasped Harry, never before having witnessed apparition.

"He is not needed here, Mr. Potter," drawled Lucius, his cold eyes glancing maliciously at Harry.

Harry said nothing, though Lucius Malfoy's unwavering gaze sent a slight shiver down his spine; never before had he seen anyone look at him with such malice, not even Uncle Vernon.

"Though uninvited, I hope you enjoy the ball which I have thrown in honour of my dear little niece." Lucius' smirk reminded Harry eerily of Draco.

"I am sure Harry will enjoy the ball, Lucius," said Cassiopeia, and Harry was immensely glad that Malfoy had finally taken his hatred-filled eyes off him.

"Good evening, Aunt Cassiopeia," Malfoy bowed to her. "I hope you enjoy the ball as well."

"Oh, I will, Lucius. Now may I talk to Mr. Potter here? In private?"

"Of course," drawled Lucius, and left after throwing Harry another nasty look.

"Why..." started Harry, wanting to ask Cassiopeia of Lucius' obvious hatred towards him. Draco hating him was understandable, but why did Lucius seem to hate Harry?

"Lucius can be unpleasant at times, Harry. Dwelling on his malice would do you no good. It is how he behaves with anyone whose blood is less than pure. And with you having defeated Voldemort, Lucius' behaviour was to be expected," interjected Cassiopeia.

Harry stared open-mouthed at her. Never before had he heard someone mentioning Voldemort's name.

"You...you uttered his name!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I did. I do not fear him, Harry. I know I am a Black, and I do believe in the superiority of those of pure blood. But I never agreed with Voldemort's violent methods of dealing with those of Muggle ancestry. Nor do I agree with fearing a mere name."

"So...why are you talking to me then? I am a half-blood," he said indignantly, not liking the older witch's words about blood superiority.

"My child," she paused, and her eyes suddenly gained an extremely pained look. "You are the only living link I have to my sister, Dorea. Before Dorea...passed away...I had promised her that I would protect James... But I couldn't do that..."

Harry remained silent, not knowing what to say.

"I wasn't allowed to meet James after he married your mother...and when I knew of his death, I wanted to petition for your guardianship. But I didn't, because I knew your mother's family would have got charge of you, by virtue of the closeness of blood. I have been wanting to meet you since the start of the year when you entered the wizarding world. But I admit, I could not gather enough courage to do so..even looking at you would have reminded me of having failed Dorea...and James..."

"I don't think my father or grandmother would have held you responsible for his death… he was betrayed by someone else…you couldn't have kept him alive…" said Harry.

Cassiopeia stared at Harry for a long moment, and then said, "The elf was right, Harry. You are indeed a noble boy. James and Charlus would have been quite proud of you."

Harry smiled at her, as a sudden warmth spread through him. The thought of his father being proud of him, gave him a strange kind of joy. But then, his smile disappeared.

"You said you weren't allowed to meet my father?" he asked her, remembering her words.

"Yes, I wasn't. But that's a story for another day," Cassiopeia smiled. "Acquila and you seem to be friends," she said, her eyes gleaming. "You seem to be quite fond of her, to come to a ball you weren't invited for just to apologise to her," she said, as she gestured to Harry to drink the liquid Dobby had placed before him.

"Yes. I have known her since we were eight years old. I met her at school," he replied, quite liking the drink.

"Dorea would have been happy."

"Why?"

"I don't know whether you know of this, but Sirius was like a second son to Dorea. She took him in after he ran away from Grimmauld Place, his parents' house. Dorea loved him as much as she loved James. And I had promised her that I would protect Sirius too but…" she trailed away.

"I didn't know this!" gasped Harry. He remembered Acquila telling him that her father had run away from home when he was sixteen; but he never knew that Sirius Black was this close to Harry's father and grandmother.

"Sirius even named his daughter after Dorea. Acquila Dorea Black!"

"Oh!" Harry sat open-mouthed. Acquila was named for his grandmother! Why had Acquila and Dora not mentioned this to him? Perhaps even Acquila didn't know of it.

"Can you tell me more? About my father and grandparents?"

"I will, Harry. But this isn't the place. Will you visit me at the Black Manor during your vacations?" she asked him, and Harry could see the longing in her eyes.

"I will," he smiled, hoping Sirius would be a free man by then, because he knew the Dursleys would never allow him to visit his wizarding relatives.

"Thank you, Harry. I will be looking forward to Acquila and you visiting me. I ought to leave now. I tend to get tired easily, an effect of my advancing age and my nearing death," she smiled at him; and Harry suddenly felt sad for the ageing lady before him. She was probably the last of his father's closest relatives; and Harry wanted to get to know as much as he could about his father's family. And he also wished to lessen Cassiopeia's guilt for not having protected his father.

"I am glad to have met you," he told her sincerely. "It's nice to know that I have relatives apart from Acquila and Dora…I mean, Nymphadora."

"Oh you do, Harry! Even Draco is your cousin!" said Cassiopeia, and Harry choked on his drink.

"Are you alright, Harry?" exclaimed Cassiopeia, as she stood up and patted Harry on his back as he coughed and gasped for breath.

"Draco? My cousin?" he said in between coughs; mentally berating himself for not having realised that earlier. Of course, Draco was his cousin; not that realising it made things any better. On the contrary, he felt an unpleasant feeling down his spine on thinking of himself being related to Malfoy, no matter how distantly.

"Yes, he is. Though I now realise that I should have told you that at a better moment, than when you were sipping the wine. Not fond of Draco, are you?" she asked him, her eyes shining slyly.

"Fond? Not at all," he replied, when he had finally stopped coughing.

"That was quite evident in the loud argument you had with Draco on the dance floor, Harry," Cassiopeia seemed amused again as Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Now I take leave of you, Harry. And I hope to see you soon. And I'm sure Acquila won't be angry with you for long; it was the same with your fathers. Sirius and James could never be angry with each other for more than a few hours," said Cassiopeia, and departed after patting Harry's head affectionately.

Harry looked around for Acquila, but he could see her nowhere. But his gaze suddenly fell on two men who stood talking to each other. Snape and Lucius Malfoy.

...

_A few minutes earlier,_

"Severus," said Lucius coldly as he approached the Potion master.

"Lucius," Snape nodded in reply.

"So have you finally turned your back on the Dark side? I never thought I would see you in the company of the brat who led to our Lord's downfall" sneered Lucius, his cold eyes glaring at Snape and simultaneously casting a silencing charm around them.

"On the contrary, Lucius, I think you understand better than most people of the need to maintain appearances. I brought Potter here at Dumbledore's insistence. The Headmaster seems to be treading the same path with Potter as he did with his father- treating him with utmost lenience and giving in to his demands. And I can't refuse Dumbledore, can I? I have to portray an unflinching loyalty towards Dumbledore, even if it means bringing Potter here to create a furor at your Ball. Rather than accusing me of turning my back to the Dark side, I think you should realise the the magnitude of trust which Dumbledore has placed in me. Or would he have given me the task of bringing Potter to a Manor full of Death-Eaters and trusted me to keep him safe?" smirked Snape.

"Well, I seem to have misunderstood you, Severus. You are right," said Lucius grudgingly. "I should have known that you of all people would never betray our Noble cause. I am sure that when our Lord returns, he will reward you greatly for having managed to gain the old coot's trust," Lucius continued, though Snape could see the skepticism in his eyes when he spoke of Voldemort's return.

"Luci…" Snape stopped mid-word, as he sensed someone watching him.

He turned around, only to see Harry a few paces away, with a scared expression on his face, having been caught snooping.

Harry had walked towards them discreetly, wanting to know what Snape was discussing with Lucius. He had closed in on them from behind the two, but try as he might, he could hear nothing. Just as he was about to creep even closer to them, Snape suddenly turned around and looked straight at him; and a moment later, Lucius followed suit.

As the two pairs of eyes, one black and one grey glared angrily at Harry, he held Snape's gaze for a moment, and with a half-apologetic look, he walked away to find Acquila.

"I think we should continue our conversation later, Lucius. I need to keep a watch on that boy. He has a nasty habit of intruding in matters which do not pertain to him," said Snape as Lucius nodded.

"Yes, Severus,"Lucius replied and walked away, thankful that he had cast the silencing charm.

...

Meanwhile, Acquila walked through the gathered crowds, wanting to get as far away from Harry as she could. Why had Harry come here? And how had he come to the Manor? Of course, when she first saw him, all she wanted to do was rush into his arms, and put their argument behind them.

But her pride did not let her. Or maybe it was her stubbornness. But she just couldn't forgive Harry this easily. Especially when he had come to apologise only after Dumbledore told her that Sirius was innocent. As she walked towards Lavender, preferring to talk to her, than Slytherin boys like Flint, she heard a gruff voice calling out to her.

"Acquila Black!"

...

"Kindly take a seat, Andromeda," said Dumbledore to the witch who came fuming into his office. Albus observed her for a moment; Andromeda bore a great resemblance to her deranged older sister- at first sight, anyone would have thought her to be Bellatrix. But on a closer inspection, the differences between the two siblings were quite evident. Andromeda's beauty was a couple of notches lower than Bellatrix's had been before her imprisonment, but the kindness in the disowned Black's eyes made her seem far more human than her sister; as did the pleasantness in Andromeda's features, which replaced the cruelty in Bellatrix's.

But currently, the blazing anger in Andromeda's eyes made her resemblance to her sister stand out.

Dumbledore let out a small sigh. He hadn't really wanted to deal with Andromeda regarding the secret-keeper matter; but when she had owled him saying she wanted to meet him immediately, he deemed it prudent to face Andromeda and get the matter done with, once and for all.

"I won't pretend not to know what brings you here, Andromeda..."

"Then tell me! Why did you not once tell me of Sirius having betrayed the Potters," she thundered.

"Sweet Salazar! It's the blood-traitor," swore an angry voice from a portrait on the wall.

"Grandfather Phineas," responded Andromeda curtly.

"I am most displeased to have caught sight of you, girl. But I must admit, although you have brought disgrace to my Noble House, watching you ranting at the great Albus Dumbledore gives me immense pleasure. After all, youdo inherit your temper from the Blacks and from our noble blood which still flows through your ungrateful veins. Though I must tell you, the Heiress to my Noble House does far better at confronting Albus than you do. You would do well to take a leaf of out her book, traitor..."

"Phineas! Enough," said Dumbledore with an air of finality and the portrait fell silent reluctantly, though Phineas still continued glaring at Andromeda.

"I know I did not tell you of Sirius having been the secret-keeper, but you need to understand, Andromeda. That James and Lily were protected by the Fidelius charm, was a fact known to very few; most of them were members of the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation which I am sure you have heard of. After Sirius' arrest, I felt no need to divulge facts about his betrayal of James and Lily, especially when no trial was held for Sirius."

"So this is it? Everything comes down to whether you feel the need to tell people or not?"

"You misunderstand me, Andromeda. And what you need to know now, is that Sirius is innocent."

Andromeda said nothing, too stunned to respond. She looked into Dumbledore's eyes, wanting to make certain that he meant every word of what he had said.

"He...he didn't betray James?" she gasped.

"He didn't. And neither did he kill those Muggles and Peter Pettigrew."

Dumbledore had always known that the daughters of the House of Black had been taught to avoid showing any kind of emotion on their faces. They were groomed to never betray their thoughts and emotions, and to maintain a stoic mask. Most Blacks, with the exception of Walburga, Bellatrix, and now Acquila tended to abide by this unwritten rule. Andromeda was no different. Despite being disowned from the family, Andromeda had retained the art of schooling her features into an unreadable mask, especially before people who weren't family.

And so, Dumbledore was stunned to see Andromeda's eyes brimming with tears.

"You mean to tell me that my cousin spent ten years in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit?"

Dumbledore nodded in affirmation.

"And since when have you known this, Dumbledore?" she snarled at the wizard. "You knew Sirius is innocent, and you did nothing? He's my cousin! And you let him rot in Azkaban! You let Acquila live at an Orphanage! You..."

"Calm down, Andromeda. I came to know of his innocence quite recently. If you will listen to what I have to say, I will tell you everything," said Dumbledore, and Andromeda nodded reluctantly.

"Peter Pettigrew!" shrieked Andromeda as Dumbledore completed his narration of events.

Andromeda stood up abruptly, sparks shooting from the end of her wand which she had clutched in her hand.

"The traitorous scum! Once I get my hands on him..."

"Losing your cool over Pettigrew will do you no good, Andromeda. And I assure you, that all efforts are on to search for Pettigrew. I have enlisted the support of Alastor Moody and Remus Lupin..."

"What about the Aurors? The Ministry? Everyone thinks Sirius is guilty. Haven't you told the Minister of Sirius' innocence?"

"Do you think anyone will believe me, Andromeda?"

"Why won't they? You have proof... Acquila's memories when the Dementors attacked..."

"You think that's proof enough for the Ministry? I do not wish to distress you, but tell me honestly, Andromeda, has the thought of even a possibility of Sirius having been innocent crossed your mind in the past ten years?"

At this, the wrath on Andromeda's face turned suddenly to guilt.

"Oh Merlin! I... I could have helped him, Albus. I could...pressed for a trial... I never..." she gasped, her voice choked with controlled sobs.

"Now, now, Andromeda. Crying over spilt potion does us no good. Before the school year ends, I will try my best to have Pettigrew caught and taken to the Ministry to be questioned under Veritaserum. And then Sirius will be a free man."

"You...do you know where Sirius is?"

"I am inclined to believe that Sirius is somewhere around Hogwarts..."

"Then why aren't you looking for him?"

"Because finding Pettigrew is the major concern at present. Sirius has managed to evade the Dementors since he has escaped. And I do not want to go searching for Sirius and force him further away from Hogwarts. Do you think he will trust anyone, Andromeda? He knows everyone thinks he's at fault. Even if I go searching for him, he won't trust that I'm out to help him..."

"I'll look for him then. I can't have him living off Merlin knows where...on the run from the Aurors and Dementors... I'll take him home...he can live with us till his name is cleared..."

"No, Andromeda. Sirius has managed to stay hidden and evade arrest for the nearly the past four months. I am sure he can do so for a few more weeks till Peter is captured," said Dumbledore pointedly.

Andromeda seemed unconvinced, but she nodded nevertheless.

"Thank you for your efforts in looking for Pettigrew, Dumbledore. But that doesn't absolve you of having kept Acquila and me in the dark about so many matters..."

"I know, Andromeda. But you need to realise, that what I did was for Acquila's own good..."

"You may have done it for Acquila, but the next time you hide things from her, I am sure you'll have to face more than just her ire."

"I know, Andromeda," sighed Dumbledore.

"I am taking Harry and Acquila home for the rest of the vacations."

"Harry as well?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes. Along with being Acquila's friend, he is also distantly related to me by blood, and someone I have come to care for."

"Alright, Andromeda. I will inform Severus that you will come to collect Harry from Malfoy Manor. His belongings will be sent to your house by the elves. I will ensure that the Orphanage is informed that Acquila won't be returning there tonight. Her trunk too will be deposited at your house."

"Thank you. And one more thing, Dumbledore," said Andromeda as she got up to leave.

"Yes?"

"Why did you allow Harry to go to Malfoy Manor? Knowing you, you would never have allowed him to go to the Malfoys where numerous death-eaters are certainly present."

"Ah! He wished to apologise to Acquila for some argument they had. And who I am to stop a reconciliation between two friends?" said Dumbledore wryly, as Andromeda departed, knowing fully well that she hadn't believed a word of what Dumbledore said about Harry going to the Malfoys.

...

Acquila looked at the man who had called out to her.

His face seemed to be roughly carved from wood; and was covered with scars. A chunkof his nose was missing. He had dark grey, grizzled hair. He also had a wooden leg. His eyes, however, were his most shocking feature: one was small and dark while the other was a vivid, electric blue magical eye and moved around independently from his normal eye.

Acquila's first reaction was wanting to recoil back in fear; but she knew that it would be very rude to do so. So she stood her ground and smiled tentatively at the man.

"Alastor Moody," said the man and extended a hand towards her. As Acquila grasped his hand for a handshake, she remembered where she had heard his name.

"You were my father's mentor!" she exclaimed, a tad loudly.

"Keep your voice down, lass," growled Moody, "You need to maintain discretion; not shout out at the top of your lungs, when in the midst of enemies."

Acquila stared back at him in shock, never having been reprimanded thus, but then realised that his words did indeed hold merit, even if the manner of his speech was harsh.

"I am sorry," she said sheepishly.

"If along with your father's features, you've inherited his nature as well, then you won't repeat this mistake, lass. Never let your guard down. Where is your wand?"

"Umm…it's in my room…"

"What!" he growled angrily. "What would Sirius have said? His own daughter wandering around in Lucius Malfoy's house without a wand!"

"But I can perform wandless magic!" she said indignantly.

"Wandless magic is all well, girl. But a witch without a wand is as good as defenceless. You need to be alert, and well-prepared for any eventuality. Constant Vigilance!" he barked, and Acquila jumped at the sudden severity in his voice.

But then, suddenly, she realised something. Moody did not seem to hate her father, on the contrary, he had almost seemed proud of Sirius.

"Do you know that my father is innocent?" she whispered to him; and as she did so, his blue eyes which was spinning in its socket, keeping a watch on the people around them, finally looked at Acquila.

He flicked his wand, and the action went almost unnoticed by Acquila as she was busy looking at his fake eye, somewhat intrigued by it.

"Silencing charm," he said as Acquila looked at him questioningly.

"I know he is innocent. And I am looking for the piece of vermin that betrayed the Potters and killed Athena. And I won't rest easy till I've seen the traitor in Azkaban," he thundered, a menacing gleam in his real eye.

"Won't you tell me who killed my mother?" she asked him.

"Not now, girl. And don't you worry about it. I am working on capturing that rascal," he said vehemently.

"Thank you," she said.

"Don't thank me, girl. It's my duty to weed out Britain of dark magic. And I owe it to Athena, to find her killer. And talking of Athena, I doubt she would have been happy to see you dancing with the Malfoy brat," he barked at her.

"But he's my cousin…"

"And he's his father's son. As the Muggles say, the apple never falls far from the tree. You would do better to keep away from him. And blood ties don't matter, Acquila, what matters is where your loyalties lie. Your father realised that quite early in his life, and I hope you do so as well."

Acquila just nodded, saying nothing. Mad-eye's words kept reverberating through her mind. Would Draco turn out to be as bad as Lucius? But he wasn't like Lucius! Draco was a good lad, though a bit bigoted and haughty. But Acquila was sure he would never kill an entire family like Lucius had. But Moody couldn't be wrong, could he? He was one of the best Aurors of all times.

"Constant Vigilance! What did I tell you? Getting lost in thoughts and losing sense of your surroundings is no way for an alert witch to behave!" Moody barked, startling Acquila.

"Yes…I am sorry. I will remember all that you've told me, Mr. Moody," she said sincerely.

"You may call me Mad-eye, lass," he said, and smiled slightly at her, or rather Acquila thought he smiled.

"Now before Harry Potter comes here to talk to you," said Moody as his blue eye looked into Harry's direction, "I hope Dumbledore gave you the key to the McKinnon vault. You will also inherit the McKinnon family mansion, and their Summer House at Devon. I have maintained both the properties as well as I could for the past ten years, and I'm glad to hand them over to you, Acquila. And remember all that I told you," he said gruffly after shaking Acquila's hand again and limping over to talk to Amelia Bones.

Acquila stared at Moody's retreating figure. Despite his gruff manner, she quite liked the man; and she knew that beneath his tough exterior, he did care for Acquila.

"How long are you going to avoid me, Acquila?" said Harry, as he walked over to her.

"As long as I can, Harry," she replied.

"Why are you doing this, Acquila?" he groaned. "And I didn't apologise to you because Dumbledore told me that your dad's innocent. I wanted to say sorry to you long before that! I knew I shouldn't have said what I did…especially about your dad and the Malfoys…"

"`That doesn't change what you said, Harry," she said sternly. "You don't trust me…despite three years of being the best of friends…"

"No, Acquila! I do trust you! I was just angry…and I lashed out at you! I shouldn't have done so! I know I was wrong…isn't that why I am here, to say sorry…"

"You hurt me, Harry. Hurt me more than anyone ever has…and I can't just forget it all…"

"Harry Potter!" said a pompous voice.

On seeing Slughorn, along with an extremely disinterested Snape approaching them, Acquila made to walk away, not wanting to talk to the former Potions Professor again, but Harry caught hold of her hand.

"You can't be mad at me forever, Acquila; especially since we're going to spend the next three days together," he grinned at her mischievously.

"I am going to Dora's place after the ball. And you are going back to Hogwarts…"

"No, Acquila. I am coming to Dora's place as well, and I promise you, that by the time we're off to school, we'll be back to being friends again," he smiled smugly at her.

"Ugh! We'll see, Potter," she said and walked away towards Ernie McMillan annoyed at Harry's smugness, though secretly pleased that they both would be spending the rest of the vacations at Dora's house.

But on the way to Ernie, Pansy Parkinson's mother approached her, fawning over Acquila's dress and beauty; and a bored Acquila let her attention wander to where Harry stood with Slughorn and Snape.

She saw Slughorn's gooseberry-coloured eyes shine with a strange fascination as he spoke to Harry, while Snape who stood beside Slughorn merely sneered.

Acquila could hear snippets of what they spoke, and from where she stood, she had a clear view of the two Potions Professors.

"…no idea how pleased I am…" she heard Slughorn say; he seemed rather reluctant to let go of Harry's hand which he was shaking since the past few seconds.

As Mrs. Parkinson walked away to talk to her husband, Acquila crept closer to the three of them, and took a glass of pumpkin juice from a passing House-elf so as to act inconspicuous while she listened to their conversation.

"I am sure Harry is wonderful at Potions, isn't it, Severus?" asked Slughorn jovially.

"No, Horace. On the contrary, I am surprised he has managed to sit through my lessons without exploding a Cauldron, with his abysmal Potion-making skills," sneered Snape, his black eyes contained a challenging look, as if daring Harry to contradict his statement.

"Come, come, Severus. Aren't you too hard on the boy? Lily was such a dab hand at Potions; she was as good as you are. I'm sure Harry has inherited…"

Acquila didn't hear the rest of the sentence, and Harry's amazement at realising that he was talking to a man who had taught his parents; because she was stunned at the sudden change in Snape's expression as Slughorn mentioned Lily Potter.

Snape's face gained a strange pained expression, followed by a strange longing in his eyes; but the change was momentary. A moment later, he was back with his usual sneer. But suddenly, his eyes darted towards where Acquila stood, and the expression on his face convinced Acquila that he knew she had seen his momentary lapse into seeming almost human. And Acquila felt that she had inadvertently intruded on what was probably something Snape did not want anyone to witness. Not wanting to incur the Potions' Professor's wrath any further, Acquila quietly walked away from the trio.

Acquila went to where Cassiopeia stood talking to Narcissa, her thoughts still centered on Snape.

"There you are, child. I wanted to talk to you before I left," smiled Cassiopeia.

"Won't you wait for dinner?" asked Acquila.

"No, dear. I ought to go home; I am feeling rather tired."

"Oh!" said Acquila, disappointed. She had wanted to know more about the Blacks from Cassiopeia.

"Don't look so disappointed, child," smiled Cassiopeia. "I am sure I will be seeing more of you over the summer. Will you stay at the Black Manor for a few days during your vacations, Acquila? I will be immensely glad to spend a few days with you and Harry."

"Harry?"

"Oh yes. I have invited him as well. He's my sister Dorea's only grandchild," she replied, and Acquila noticed Narcissa's face momentarily seeming displeased at the mention of Harry.

"You will bring her over to the Manor, won't you, Cissy?" Cassiopeia asked Narcissa.

"Of course, I will," replied Narcissa, though Acquila could hear the reluctance in her voice.

"Goodbye, Acquila," said Cassiopeia and pulled Acquila into a hug, which Acquila happily returned; though judging from the surprise which flitted over Narcissa's face, Acquila concluded that it was probably rather unlike Cassiopeia to show affection this openly.

After Narcissa had escorted Cassiopeia till the ornate fireplace, she turned to Acquila.

"Come with me, Acquila. It's time for dinner, and you are expected to sit with some of our most esteemed guests. I am quite pleased with the way you have conducted yourself today, with the exception of the episode with Harry Potter, though I can't really blame you for him coming here uninvited."

Acquila said nothing, just nodded in acknowledgment of Narcissa's satisfaction with her behavior.

Acquila spent the next hour in the company of a table full of the most important pure-blood families of Britain; and she felt like sitting in a boring History of Magic class would probably have been a lot more interesting than listening to Mrs. Nott and Mrs. Flint who sat on either side of her, discussing what a great addition Acquila would make to whichever Noble House she married into when she came of age.

Acquila tried to distract herself from their constant chatter by wondering how the food magically appeared on the table, rather like it did at Hogwarts; with the only difference being that you just had to mention aloud the name of the dish which you wanted to eat, and the food magically appeared at the table. Draco was sitting right opposite her; but with Narcissa and Lucius sitting on either side of him, he said nothing to Acquila, merely smiling at her when their eyes met.

"Bored?" he mouthed at her, when Lucius was busy discussing his properties in France with Mr. Parkinson who sat next to him.

"Yes," she mouthed back at him.

As Acquila put a spoonful of soup in her mouth, she felt someone kick her foot below the table. She looked up at Draco and saw him smirking at her.

She smirked back at him, and kicked his foot in return.

He winced and she stuck her tongue out at him when she thought no one was looking.

A few seconds later, she felt him kick her again. Their kicking-spree continued till Acquila mistakenly kicked Lucius instead of Draco.

"Who kicked me?" Lucius snarled, wondering which of the witches sitting opposite him had kicked him, till his eyes fell on Acquila. They glared at each other for a long moment, till Lucius shifted his gaze to Mr. Nott who asked him something about Lucius' investments.

Draco looked apologetically at Acquila, knowing he had landed her in trouble, but Acquila just smiled back at him reassuringly.

As Acquila went on with the Main Course of the dinner, she looked all around her. She had been wanting to see where Harry was since the start of dinner, but hadn't wanted Harry to know that she had indeed been looking for him.

She finally looked on the tables around her, but to her dismay she could see Harry nowhere. But her eye finally lit up, when she saw Harry sitting a couple of tables away from her.

He seemed to be getting even more bored than she was- since he was sitting with Slughorn and Fudge on either side of him. Snape seemed to be opposite Harry, since Acquila could see the back of his greasy-haired head. She also saw the photographers clicking their cameras madly, as Fudge put an arm around Harry and ordered them to take his photograph with the Boy-who-lived.

Just as Acquila was about to look away, Harry's eyes met hers, and he smiled brightly at her. And Acquila knew that he was glad that Acquila had been looking at him, despite claiming to be angry with him.

She glared at him in return, but he just smiled back smugly; glad to have caught her staring at him.

Some time later, as the tedious dinner finally came to an end, most of the guests started to leave.

"Come with me, Acquila," said Narcissa, as Snape approached them with Harry following him.

"I will take them to her, Severus," she said to Snape.

"I would prefer accompanying you, Narcissa. Unfortunately, Dumbledore has given me the lowly task of making certain that Potter is safely conveyed to Tonks," he replied.

Narcissa nodded in reply and led them to what seemed like the rear gate of the Manor. As they approached the gate, Acquila spotted a woman standing just outside the gates.

"Aunt Andomeda!" she exclaimed and went running into her Aunt's arms.

"Oh, dear! I am so glad to see you, Acquila!" Andromeda exclaimed.

The expression of envy which flitted over Narcissa's face did not go unnoticed by Andromeda and Snape, but Harry was oblivious to it.

He stared longingly at Acquila and Andromeda. He knew Acquila deserved to have a family after all that she had gone through. But seeing Andromeda hugging Acquila with such love and warmth, led to a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, which he suddenly realised was envy and longing.

"Harry! I am so glad to see you too!" said Andromeda, and pulled him into a hug too.

Harry hesitated at first, but then put his arms around the older witch, reveling in the affection for him which emanated from Andromeda.

"If the sickeningly sweet display of affection is over, I will leave for Hogwarts," said Snape's sneering voice.

"Oh yes. I should be on my way too," said Andromeda.

And it was then that Acquila noticed the emotions in Narcissa's grey eyes. Was it envy? Or was it longing? Acquila suddenly felt bad for Narcissa; though still unsure of her feelings towards Acquila. Draco had told her how much Narcissa longed for a daughter. Was she envious of the relation between Acquila and Andromeda?

"Aunt Narcissa," Acquila said suddenly, the words were out of her mouth before she even realised what she was saying.

"Yes?"

"Umm…Thank you…for the ball…I knew you undertook a lot of efforts…to make it perfect…" Acquila was suddenly at a loss for words.

"You are welcome, Acquila. And I look forward to spending the summer with you at the Manor," said Narcissa and for a minute, Acquila thought Narcissa would step forward to embrace her, but she didn't, instead clasping her hand for a moment, and then letting it go.

"Come, children. The Portkey is waiting for us," said Andromeda holding forth a Muggle soda can, at which Narcissa looked distastefully.

"See you at school, Potter and Black; not that I am looking forward to it," said Snape coldly, glaring at the two kids; his gaze lasting longer on Acquila than on Harry.

"Goodbye, Narc…" Andromeda was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Stop! Acquila!"

It was Draco. He was coming running towards them, panting for breath.

"Acquila! You didn't even bid me goodbye before you left," he said, with a hint of hurt in his voice. He then looked emotionlessly at Andromeda and glared at Harry."Oh! Potter is coming with you as well," he said nastily, the hurt in his voice disappearing.

"Yes, Draco; not that I am pleased about it," she said, as Draco's face broke into a smug smile; while Harry seemed dejected.

"But he gets to spend the rest of the vacations with you! I don't!" pouted Draco, looking every bit like the pampered child that he was.

"Oh, Draco! We'll meet at school, won't we?" Acquila smiled at him, and then hugged him; Draco hugging her tightly in return. Narcissa looked at the cousins with a joyous gleam in her eyes.

"Come on, Acquila. It's time to leave," said Andromeda and pulled Acquila's hand off Draco and towards the Portkey; and a moment later, the three of them disappeared.

...

Acquila and Harry felt their feet land on what seemed like a lawn. Harry stumbled, but Andromeda caught hold of his hand before he could fall down onto the grass.

"Droma? Is that you?" a male voice called out from within the cottage which stood in front of them.

"Yes, Ted," replied Andromeda.

"Oh hello, Harry! Hello, Acquila!" said the man on spotting the children.

"This is my husband, Ted. I think you had seen him at the Ministry, hadn't you, Acquila?"

"Oh yes, hello Mr. Tonks," said Acquila as Harry smiled at him.

"Oh, you may call me Uncle Ted, since you call Droma, Aunt Andromeda," said Ted Tonks jovially as Harry and Acquila nodded.

"Now come on in," he said, as they saw Nymphadora come running towards them.

"Wotcher, Harry! Acquila!" she said and pulled them both into a bone-crushing hug.

"Dora! Can't breathe," gasped Harry as she let go off them, her hair now a bright red.

"Oops! Sorry," she said sheepishly. "But I'm so glad to see you both!"

"I'm glad to see you too, Dora!" said Acquila, as they followed the Tonks to their house.

"Umm... I didn't bring my things...my clothes and..." started Harry.

"Dumbledore had them sent here, Harry," said Andromeda.

"You met him?" gasped Acquila.

"Oh yes, I did. But we'll talk about it later."

"Are you guys hungry? I can try cooking something..." said Dora, but Harry interrupted her, "No, we aren't. We ate a lot at dinner..."

"I can answer for myself, Harry," said Acquila coldly as the Dora looked at her in surprise.

"What's the matter, Acquila? Why so rude..."

"I'm fine, Dora. And...Nyx!" she exclaimed suddenly on seeing the cat walking up to them.

"Did you get all my stuff from the orphanage, Aunt Andy?" asked Acquila, gathering Nyx in her arms.

It was a few seconds later that Acquila noticed that Andromeda hadn't replied.

"Umm...what's the matter?" she asked.

But Andromeda seemed to be lost in her thoughts.

Acquila and Harry looked at Ted, wondering what the matter was.

"Droma?" Ted said softly, at the same time as Dora said 'Mom?'

That seemed to bring Andromeda out of her thoughts.

"Oh...I apologise…lost in thoughts...nobody has called me Andy since Sirius..."

Ted seemed shocked at Andromeda mentioning Sirius' name, not having heard her talk of him in this reminiscent a manner.

"Nymphadora, will you please show Harry and Acquila their rooms, while I talk to Ted?" said Andromeda when she noticed Ted's gob-smacked expression.

"Okay, mum! And don't call me Nymphadora," groaned Dora as she led the kids up the staircase.

"Harry, this is your room. I hope you like it."

"I love it!" exclaimed Harry as he walked around the room.

It had a four-poster bed, and a window which overlooked the small pond in the garden, which was reflecting the moonlight.

"Hedwig!" he exclaimed happily on seeing the owl perched on the table.

"Quite a smart owl you've got there, Harry. She came in a few minutes after the elves brought your trunk," smiled Dora brightly. "Now why don't you change into your pajamas, while I show Acquila her room?"

"Alright," he smiled.

Just as she reached the door, Nymphadora turned back to look at Harry.

"You look quite dashing in these dress robes, Harry," she winked.

Harry blushed a bright red, not having been praised ever before. As he looked at Acquila, he noticed a tiny smile on her face, but when she saw him looking, she huffed and left the room.

Moments later, Dora led Acquila to another room.

"This one's yours, Acquila," she said.

"Wow! It's nice!" exclaimed Acquila as she plopped down on the fluffy bed.

"Umm...did you have a fight with Harry?"

"Yes, I did," said Acquila as she launched into a long explanation of the occurrences of the past few days.

"Holy Helga! Why didn't you tell me, Acquila! You could have written to me! I would have come back with mum and..."

"I wanted to write to you. But I thought you would be busy with your granny. And..."

"And?"

"And I thought maybe you and Aunt Andromeda knew of the secret-keeper thing and didn't tell me," she said softly, not meeting Dora's eyes.

"Oh my! I would have told you if I knew! But it's okay, Acquila..."

"I'm sorry...for doubting..."

"Oh come on, little cousin. No need of apologies. All that matters is that you're happy now...and that Sirius is innocent! I still can't believe it..."

"Won't you say something about Harry?"Acquila interrupted her. She had expected Dora to support her, and launch into a tirade about what Acquila saw as Harry's betrayal of her.

"Acquila, I think he's really sorry. Or why would he have come all the way to that git Draco's house? And he came there with Snape! He has told me how he feels that Snape hates him! He opted to come with Snape to Malfoy's house just to say sorry to you! Doesn't that show how determined he was to apologise to you. Everyone makes mistakes, Acquila. What matters is that he knows he made a mistake…"

"You're supporting him over me?" Acquila glared at her cousin.

"Oh come on! Supporting him over you? It's not even a question of supporting either of you! You need to let go off your anger and start talking to the poor dear. Did you see how his face fell when you were rude to him?"

"Poor dear?And what about me? What about when I felt hurt? Because of what he said? He said I belong to the Malfoys!" she said indignantly.

"But…"

"I'm tired. I'm going off to sleep now, Dora," Acquila huffed.

Nymphadora shook her head in exasperation and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

As she was about to descent the staircase, she heard Harry calling her.

"Did she talk to you about me?" he asked her in a small voice.

"Oh, she did. But not in a way you would like," Nymphadora replied as she followed Harry to his room.

After he launched into his own take on the events, Dora smiled wistfully.

"She's a Black through and through, Harry. I think it's a family trait- holding grudges and taking ages to forgive people. It's the Black sense of pride; even mom's like her."

"You mean she will take ages to forgive me?" groaned Harry.

"It seemed so, though I hope not. I mean how long can she avoid you when you both are living under the same roof? She'll have to talk to you some time or the other. Don't worry, Harry. She'll start talking to you soon. And if she doesn't, I can think of a lot of ways to make her talk to you," she winked at him.

"Now don't you worry. Go off to sleep. I'm sure you're tired. An hour of lunch with Fudge, Snape and Slughorn, a squabble with my evil cousin, and posing for tens of photographs for the Daily Prophet would sure have had you exhausted," she snickered as Harry punched her playfully.

"Good night!"

"Good night, Dora!"

...

Acquila tossed around in her bed. She tried counting sheep, tried imagining Professor Binns' lesson; but sleep seemed to have deserted her. She couldn't keep her thoughts away.

Why was Dora supporting Harry? Didn't she see how Harry had hurt her? He did say that he had realised he was wrong long before Dumbledore told him of her father's innocence; but that didn't absolve him of what he said. And he had told Ron about it! Without even asking her if he could! It was a betrayal of sorts, wasn't it?

But then, she remembered what Remus had told her. Could she lose a friend because she didn't have it in her to forgive and forget? And what Dora said was right as well, wasn't it? Harry had come all the way to Malfoy Manor with Snape; just to say sorry to her.

As she lay engrossed in her thoughts, she heard the door to her room creaking; and she shut her eyes, wondering who had come in to check on her.

As she heard the shuffling of small feet, she knew it was probably Harry. She feigned sleep, not wanting Harry to know she was awake. She didn't want to talk to him, especially with the dilemma which was on in her mind.

She felt him sit next to her on her bed, and he gingerly took her hand in his, probably thinking she was fast asleep.

"I'm sorry, Acquila. I really am. I know I hurt you…hurt you very badly. But I…I was angry. I know I shouldn't have said what I did…but all I could think of was my parents…and how they died to save my life…but I shouldn't have lashed out at you…You're the first friend I ever had…and you're my best friend. Remember what I had promised you? You'll always be my best friend no matter what…I know I was wrong…but it hurts when…when you just ignore me…you mean a lot to me, Acquila…you're the most important person in my life…and I cant bear you not talking to me…"

He said nothing after that, as Acquila remained still. He sat by her side for a few more minutes, probably deep in thought; and then he finally let go of her hand. She felt him put his arms around her and hug her gingerly; and then heard his feet tread on the wooden floor of her room.

When she heard the door shutting, she finally opened her eyes and groaned. As if she wasn't confused enough, Harry's heartfelt words had only added to her dilemma. Was she being immature? Ought she to forget the matter and move on?

It was two hours later that she finally fell into a restless sleep; with Harry, Snape and Sirius and house-elves flitting through her dreams.

...

"Droma?" said Ted Tonks as he extended his hand towards the switch which would put on the light in his room.

"Why haven't you slept as yet? It's four in the morning," he mumbled sleepily as he glanced at the clock in their room. It was in times like these that he was glad they had electricity in their house. Switching on the light was much, much better than casting a lumos charm when one was half-asleep.

"Go to sleep, Teddy," she said softly.

"But why haven't you slept as yet? Are you still thinking of what curses you are going to use on Pettigrew once he is caught?" he yawned.

"No," she chuckled softly. "Go to sleep, darling."

She pressed a kiss onto his forehead as he drifted off to sleep, knowing there was no convincing Andromeda when she was this determined.

She got up and sat by the window, glancing at the sky which was still gloomily dark. Images flashed through her mind in a painfully slow pace.

_"This is your cousin," the mother said to her three daughters, leading them to the baby which lay asleep in his crib._

_"Sirius Orion Black, the Heir to our Noble House," continued Druella Black, gesturing towards the three month-old baby._

_Walburga hadn't allowed the girls to meet her new-born son for weeks, for fear of infections. He was the only male Black in his generation, and Walburga wanted to ensure that nothing untoward happened to him._

_Bellatrix glanced at the baby and then walked away, least interested in the sleeping child._

_Narcissa stood on her tip-toes, and looked at the baby curiously. She touched the baby's hand briefly and then followed Bella._

_Finally, Andromeda approached the crib and stared at the black-haired baby. It was the first time she was seeing a baby boy; and to her childish mind, the baby seemed much less prettier than Narcissa had been as an infant._

_But then, the baby suddenly opened his eyes and his tiny face broke out into a toothless smile as his eyes met Andomeda's. And as Andromeda looked into the baby's grey eyes which had tiny specs of blue in them, she felt a wide smile blooming on her own face._

_The baby raised its arms, as if wanting Andromeda to hold him._

_She carefully lifted up the boy, cradling him in her arms and he smiled at her again, and then tried to catch a strand of her curly black hair in his tiny baby hands._

_She gradually pulled her hair out of his grasp and started making faces at the baby, hoping to make him smile again. She succeeded as he smiled widely at her._

_On seeing that the baby was awake, Bellatrix came over to her, wanting to hold the child. But as Andromeda handed him over to her sister, he started bawling. An annoyed Bellatrix handed Sirius back to Andromeda. And the moment the baby saw that it was Andromeda holding him, he smiled a heart-warming smile._

_And it was then that Andromeda loved her new cousin; for he was the only one in the family who had chosen her over Bella. _

Her mind went from one memory to the other.

_"Come on, Sirius! You have to play with me," Narcissa dragged a four-year old Sirius towards her._

_"Noooo!Andloda telling me a swory!" he struggled against her, but she dragged him easily._

_"But I want to play with you!Regulus isn't old enough to play with me. And I'm getting bored!"_

_"Nacitaaa! Leave meee!" Sirius started crying._

_"You never play with me," Narcissa huffed in annoyance._

_"I wantAndloda," Sirius told Narcissa and after pulling back his hand from her grasp, he went running to Andromeda._

_"Andloda! You…you tell me swory!" he said as he sniffled._

_"It's Andromeda, Sirius," she smiled as she placed him on his lap._

_"Andloo.."_

_"An-dro-me-da," she told him in between giggles._

_"Andlo..meee….Andy."_

_"Hey! Don't call me Andy! It sounds like a boy's name!" she said indignantly._

_But on sensing her annoyance, Sirius started chuckling and exclaimed happily, "Anndddyyy!"_

_"Hey!" she said in mock-outrage._

_"Andy!"_

_And the name stuck._

Andromeda shook her head wistfully. Ten years of suppressing memories had led to her brain going into overdrive… the thoughts and memories she had thought she had forgotten were coming rushing back into her mind.

_"Andy!"_

_"You are ten years old, Sirius! Don't call me Andy!"_

_"You'll always be Andy to me, cousin," he said cheekily, smirking at her._

_"What if I'm not sorted in Slytherin?" he said to her suddenly, all traces of his smile gone from his face._

_"You will be in Slytherin, Sirius. You are a Black. All Blacks are in Slytherin. And there's an entire year to go before you go to Hogwarts"_

_"But what if I'm not? I don't want to be in Slytherin like the rest of the family."_

_"You'll still remain my favourite little man," she told him, ruffling his carefully combed hair._

_"Oi!" he exclaimed, as he tried to set his hair right._

_"Don't you worry, Siri. I'm sure you'll be another one in the long line of Blacks to have graced the House of our Noble Slytherin ancestor," she said in a near-correct imitation of Orion Black._

_"Hmmm," replied Sirius, though Andromeda could see that he seemed troubled._

_"And Andy?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"What about your favourite big man?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"You like someone, don't you? You're blushing!" he exclaimed gleefully._

_"Who is it?"_

_"No one!"_

_"Don't you lie to me! Who is it?"_

_"I can't tell you."_

_"It isn't RabastanLestrange, is it? Uncle Cygnus was talking of betrothing you to him. Ifyou agree to marry him, I'll disown you when I become the Head of House. I can't stand another bigoted Lestrange in the family," he said, sticking his tongue out at her._

_"You know it isn't Rabastan! I like someone else," Andromeda muttered shyly._

_"Tell me who it is. You know I'll tell no one, Andy!"_

_"Ted Tonks," Andromeda whispered._

_"Muggle-born?Tonks isn't a pure-blood name."_

_"Yes," she said, waiting with bated breath for Sirius' reaction._

_"I'm glad you chose a Muggle-born, Andy!" he exclaimed, hugging her tightly. Though he was just ten years old, he was already just a few inches shorter than Andromeda._

_"Thank you, Siri," she said as he let go off her._

_"You know I'm not like the rest of the family, Andy. And I'll always support you, no matter what. You're my favourite cousin!"_

_"And you're mine! And I promise you, Siri, I will stand by you no matter what," she said as she ruffled his hair again._

Another memnory played through her mind

_"Don't Sirius…please…"_

_"But I want to be an Auror, Andy!"_

_"You can't!"_

_"Why not?"_

_"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!"_

_"You won't! It's not as if being an Auror is a ticket to death!"_

_"It is! You know Bella will be baying for your blood if you become an Auror!"_

_"Isn't she already baying for my blood? I am an abomination to the name of our pathetic family," Sirius said disdainfully._

_"You're just seventeen!"_

_"People younger than me are dying! I can save lives!"_

_"You'll lose your own life! Why don't you get it? You're the only family I have apart from Ted and Nymphadora! I can't lose you!" she said and finally broke down into tears._

_Sirius stood stunned for a moment; it was only the second or third time he had seen her crying._

_"Andy! Don't cry!"_

_"Then why won't you listen to me?"_

_"Please, Andy. Remember you had promised me you'll always stand by me?"_

_"I do," she said as he wiped off her tears, and she finally agreedto support his bid to become an Auror._

_"I'll stand by you, Siri, no matter what…"_

The words kept repeating through her mind, as she finally let the dam of her tears burst, and she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Droma!" Ted woke up, pulling his wife into his embrace.

"What's the matter, darling?"

"I…I failed him, Ted…"

"What are you saying, dear?"

"Siri…I failed him…I had promised to stand by him…and I… I let him rot in Az…Azkaban…" she said in between her gut-wrenching sobs_._

"I didn't trust him…he supported me…me through everything…and I… I abandoned him when he needed me…I could have tried to get him a trial…but I just believed what people said…I failed him, Ted…I failed Sirius…"

Ted Tonks said nothing, as he rubbed his wife's back gently; letting her cry out all the emotions she had hidden within her for ten long years.

...

Three hours later, Andromeda woke up to the smell of bacon. She gently disentangled herself from her sleeping husband's arms and walked out of the room towards the kitchen from where the delicious fragrance was coming.

"Harry!" she exclaimed as she saw the boy transfer the bacon from the frying pan to a plate.

"Oh! Good morning, Aunt Andromeda!"

"Why are _you_ cooking?" she asked him, aghast.

"I cook breakfast at my Aunt's house…"

"What!" she exclaimed in outrage. "Doesn't your Aunt cook?"

"She does, sometimes. But generally, I make breakfast…"

"She makes you cook? How dare…you're just a child!"

"It's alright, Aunt Andromeda. I don't mind cooking for them. I am used to it."

"Used to it?" she asked angrily, as she took the frying pan from Harry and used her wand which was lying on the dining table to transfer the bacon to the pan.

"Yes. I make breakfast quite often…"

"What else do they make you do?"

"Mow the lawn, paint the garden benches, wash the car, etc, etc."

"Bloo…" Andromeda stopped mid-word realising that she had just been about to swear; while Harry stared at her wide-eyed. He had never thought the prim and proper Andromeda capable of swearing.

"The next time you go to their house, I am going to have a strong word with them. No more of such chores…the evil woman! She's Lily's sister, isn't she? How could she make you work like a House-Elf!"

"She hates me…"

"What! Why?"

As Harry told Andromeda of his childhood with the Dursleys, Andromeda sensed her anger rising to hitherto non-existent heights.

"The nerve of those vileMuggles! You are never going back there again! I am going to have a word with them, might put my wand to good use…" she exclaimed furiously.

"And Harry, no cooking when you are here," she smiled at him, as he smiled back; glad that Andromeda's ranting seemed to have ended.

As Andromeda called out to Nymphadora and Ted, telling them to wake up, she made up her mind to talk to Dumbledore for a way to ensure that she could get guardianship of Harry. The mere thought of him spending a single moment with the Muggleshad her temper rising again.

A few minutes later, Dora, Ted and a groggyAcquila entered the room.

"Acquila! Did you not sleep last night? Look at your eyes…" Andromeda exclaimed on seeing Acquila's sleep-deprived eyes.

"I could say the same for you, Aunt Andromeda," she smirked cheekily, reminding her of Sirius.

"You seem to be in a better mood today, Acquila," said Dora as she stubbed her toe on the leg of the table and howled in pain.

"Nymphadora! You're so clumsy!" said Andromeda in exasperation.

"Don't call me that! Call me Tonks!" Dora hissed, as Harry and Acquila started laughing, while Ted for whom this seemed to be an everyday occurrence concentrated on eating his breakfast.

They had breakfast with Harry and Acquila keeping relatively silent, while Ted and Andromeda discussed Dora's studies for her upcoming NEWTS.

"So children, what do want to do today?" Ted asked Harry and Acquila.

"Dad, why don't we go to the amusement park in London? They'll love it!" said Dora.

"Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it, Droma?" Ted asked his wife.

As Andromeda thought of how Harry's childhood had been, she deemed a trip to the amusement park a wonderful idea.

"Indeed. But we'll go there a bit later. I need to go to St. Mungos and report to Dr. Haley," said Andromeda.

"Do you like being healers?" Acquila asked Ted and Andromeda suddenly.

"Oh yes, we do," smiled Ted.

"It's nice to know that we can be of help to people. It's quite a fulfilling job," put in Andromeda. "Now, why don't you and Harry watch TV, till Ted and I make a quick trip to the Hospital? And Nymphadora, please do study Charms. I don't want you getting a Poor grade."

"I will, mum. Don't you worry. I know I need good grades if I'm going to be an Auror…"

"You are not going to be an Auror, Nypmh…" Andromeda interjected furiously.

"Calm down, girls. Hearing the same argument everyday is really annoying," Ted interrupted them, as Nymphadora rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Droma," he said and pulled Andromeda to her feet, taking her to their room.

"Why doesn't she want you to be an Auror?" Harry asked Nymphadora after her parents had left the room.

"She thinks it's a dangerous job. And I'll get injured or killed," replied Dora dryly.

"How did she agree to my dad being an Auror then?" Acquila asked her suddenly.

"Oh, she took ages to agree with Sirius' decision to join the Auror force; or that's what my dad told me."

"What if she doesn't let you be an Auror?" Harry asked her. He envied Nymphadora slightly for having someone who cared so much for her well-being. If the Dursleys knew being an Auror entailed facing possible injuries and death, they would have had him join Auror training the minute he cleared his NEWTS.

"She'll come around," said Dora dismissively.

"And if she doesn't?"  
"Then, I can be as stubborn as she is," winked Nymphadora as she cleared the plates, dropping one on the floor in the process where it crashed into pieces.

"Shattered another plate, Nymphadora?" called out Andromeda from her room on hearing the sound of the plate crashing to the ground.

"Yes, mum," she replied sheepishly as Harry and Acquila helped her clear the pieces of the plate from the floor.

An hour later, Harry entered the living room. He was dressed in Muggle clothes which fortunately fit him much, much better than Dudley's oversized ones. Andromeda had brought them for him on the way to St. Mungos and given them to him through the Floo network.

He saw Acquila sitting on the sofa, watching a Disney movie on the TV.

"Hey," he said softly, as he sat down beside her.

She glared at him and then shifted away from him, sitting on the edge of the sofa.

Sensing that she did not want to speak to him, he started watching the movie.

"Say something, please. How long are you going to be mad at me?" he asked her suddenly.

She still said nothing, as if she hadn't heard him at all.

He sighed; and then spotted the television remote on the table in front of them. He reached out to it and changed the channel to one showing a Football match.

"Hey!" she muttered indignantly. "I was watching Cinderella! Give the remote back to me!"

"I thought you weren't talking to me," he grinned at her teasingly.

"Well, now I am. Change the channel!"

"I won't!"

She leaned over and tried to pry the remote out of his hands; but he held it out of her reach. She scooted closer to him and tried to grasp the remote, but he held it tightly, not letting it go, all the while guffawing loudly.

"Potter! Give it back to me! Or…or…"

"Or what?" he asked her between snickers.

"Or I'll…" she stopped in mid-sentence and started tickling Harry.

As Harry started laughing uncontrollably, while trying to pry Acquila's tickling fingers off him, his glasses fell off, as did the remote in his hands.

The minute the remote was out of his fist, Acquila grabbed it.

"I win!" she said, as she started snickering at the sight of Harry's disheveled appearance as his hands moved around blindly, as he looked for his glasses.

"Here," she said finally as she handed over his glasses to him.

"Wotcher! Oh! Both of you seem to have made up!" said Nymphadora brightly as she entered the room.

"No, we haven't," said Acquila haughtily, as she remembered that she was still miffed with Harry.

"But…" started Harry, but Acquila had already stalked out of the room.

"Why is she so stubborn?" he groaned.

"Didn't I tell you? It's the Noble blood of the Blacks which runs through her veins," said Dora, imitating Draco Malfoy's drawling manner of speech.

"She'll get over it, Harry. Now why don't we leave for the Park?"

"Isn't Aunt Andromeda coming?"

"No. She just Floo-called. She has to attend to a patient who has just been brought in. He seems to have spouted two extra pairs of ears," she said as Harry looked surprised.

"Extra pairs of ears?How?"

"Magic!" winked Dora as she gestured to him to follow her to the door.

...

It was 11 pm. Acquila sat by the edge of the pond in the Tonks' garden, staring at the reflection of the full moon in the stagnant waters of the lake.

She had had the most enjoyable day ever. She had never been to an Amusement park ever before. And she loved each and every ride at the park; the only drawback being that she had to sit next to Harry in all the rides. Dora seemed to have made it her mission to get Acquila to talk to Harry and she had ensured that they sat next to each other throughout the day.

Acquila had spoken to Harry, but it was just a few sentences here and there.

She knew she was being stubborn, and probably immature as well. She knew she was stretching the matter more than she should have. It was high time she put the incident behind her and started talking to Harry again. But the feeling of betrayal she felt refused to go away. She knew Harry was genuinely sorry, she even knew that he wouldn't say anything even remotely painful ever again. But then why couldn't she accept his apology and move on?

She felt someone sit next to her. She didn't bother to look at who it was, knowing it was Andromeda since Ted, Harry and Nymphadora were busy playing WizardingMonopoly.

"You seem to be deep in thought, dear," Andromeda said softly.

"Yes, I was."

"You still won't talk to Harry?"

"I won't,"Acquila replied indignantly. But Andromeda could see the lack of conviction in her tone.

Andromeda said nothing for some moments.

"Do you remember the day of the hearing at the Ministry?" asked Andromeda suddenly.

"I do," said Acquila. "Why?"

"What did you feel when you first realised that LuciusMalfoy killed the McKinnons?"

"Huh?" exclaimed Acquila, wondering why Andromeda was talking of that day.

"Tell me what you felt that day," Andromeda persisted.

"I was angry, of course; angry like never before. I set him on fire. You remember it, don't you? You were there!"

"Did you even once think before getting enraged?"

"Of course not! He killed my mother's entire family..."

"Did you wait to get confirmation of him having actually committed the crime?"

"No. I knew from the expression on his face that..."Acquila stopped speaking suddenly. And then, she remained silent for quite some time.

"You realise what I'm trying to say, don't you, dear?" asked Andromedasoftly.

"I do," said Acquila as she stared intently at the lake.

"Harry got angry when he heard Madam Pomfrey say that my father betrayed Harry's parents...but he could have believed me when I told him I knew nothing of it…"

"He could have believed you, but his anger impaired his ability to think rationally, dear. Wouldn't you have got furious as well if you knew that your parents' best friend led them to their deaths?"

"I would…but my father didn't betray his parents…"

"I know that, child; but Harry didn't know of it that time, did he? When you heard what Madam Pomfrey said, did you not even for a moment think that Sirius was guilty?"

"I did think he may have betrayed Harry's parents… But that's not the point! He accused me of hiding such a big thing from him when I had no inkling of the matter at all! He even told our friend, Ron, all about it!"

Andromeda sighed deeply.

"Acquila, sometimes, we fail to trust the very people whom we ought to trust…we think they betrayed us, we believe what people say about them without making certain of the truth…and believe me, dear; the moment you realise that you doubted the one person who would never betray your trust, the pain and guilt you feel is…" she faltered, her voice pained.

"You aren't talking of Harry and me, are you?" Acquila asked her softly as she clasped her Aunt's hands in hers.

"I'm not," she admitted.

Acquila remained silent, knowing Andromeda would speak when she was ready to do so.

"I am talking of Sirius," she said in an almost-whisper.

"My father?"

"Yes. I had promised Siri when we were younger, that I would always stand by him, no matter what. And when I spoke to Dumbledore yesterday and realised that Sirius was innocent all along…I realised how badly I had failed the one person in my family who had always supported me. I never once thought that Sirius might not have killed those Muggles, never once thought of the fact that they didn't even hold a trial for him. I went back on my word, I doubted the one person who had always loved me unconditionally since the very first time I held him in my arms when he was a baby…you have no idea how the guilt gnaws at my very heart, I can't even bring myself to look at my face in the mirror…"

"Oh, Aunt Andy," said Acquila softly as she hugged the older witch. "I am sure he will forgive you when he's declared a free man…"

"He won't."

"He will! You're his favourite cousin! And you aren't the only person …even RemusLupin told me that he felt guilty about not supporting my father…he won't blame you. I'm sure he'll forgive you," she said.

"You couldn't forgive Harry for a relatively small mistake which he committed. How is Siri ever going to forgive me for the ten years…" she faltered again.

Neither witch spoke a word more as they sat by the pond, in silence; each lost in her own thoughts, her own guilt.

By the time they went back to the cottage, Dora, Ted and Harry seemed to have gone off to bed as the lights in the rooms were off.

"Good night, Aunt Andy," whispered Acquila.

"Goodnight, dear."

Acquila ascended the staircase and crept into Harry's room. He put on the night-lamp next to his bed and saw him sleeping. His face seemed so innocent. He smiled slightly in his sleep, and Acquila realized that he was probably dreaming.

"Harry?" she said softly, not wanting to wake him up, but knowing that she _had_ to talk to him.

"Wssmtr…" he mumbled.

"Harry?"

"Goaway…"

"Harry!"

"What happened!" he exclaimed as he grabbed his glasses from his bedside table and jabbed them onto his face.

"What's the matter, Acquila? Are you alright?"

Acquila's answer was to envelop Harry in a tight hug.

He seemed surprised by her sudden movement, but then he hugged her in return.

"I am sorry," she said as she finally let go of him. "I shouldn't have…"

"No, no, no! _I _am sorry! I was a jerk, Acquila. I should never have…"

"It's alright, Harry. Let's not talk of it. I just came over to say that I am fine…and I want to start talking to you again. Now go off to sleep."

"No! I'm not sleepy anymore. And I have so much to tell you- about the twins and Snape…and do you know Dumbledore knew we visited the mirror! I met him!"

"He knew?"

"Yes, he did. He can turn invisible without a cloak! And I saw you in the mirror!'

"Me?"

"Yes, you! But first, tell me how did you spend three days with Malfoy. Did he trouble you?"

"Three days? I was there for just one day- the day of the ball," she smirked.

"Then where did you go when you left Hogwarts? You didn't even tell me in the reply to my letters!"

"I went to the Orphanage, of course," she replied as Harry smacked himself in the head for not having thought of that.

"And before that, I met that dog!"

"The Dog!"

"Yes….."

Acquila and Harry spent the next couple of hours telling each other of how they had spent the past few days.

And when Andromeda came to wake up Harry the next morning, she found both Harry and Acquila fast asleep in the bed.

As she shut the door, letting them sleep, she had a smile on her face, hoping that Acquila's father would be much less stubborn in forgiving people.

...

"This isn't fair! Two of you playing against me!" Sirius heard the redheaded boy shout.

"Come on, Ronniekins!"

"All's fair in love and war!" he heard the identical twins yell as they pelted their brother with a flurry of snow-balls.

"Bloody Hell!" yelled the younger redhead as two large snowballs hit him one after the other right in his face, and he stumbled and slipped onto the snow-clad ground. His brothers went towards him, laughing uncontrollably, and then they picked him off the ground, while he grumbled about the unfairness of the snowball fight.

Sirius followed them discreetly, hoping they wouldn't turn around and spot his black canine form behind the snowclad bushes. He wanted to know where Acquila and Nyx were. He had waited patiently for Nyx in the past two days, but she hadn't come to meet him. He had then entered the castle himself last night, but had found neither the cat nor the rat. He had wanted to enter Gryffindor tower to look for Acquila, but then, better sense prevailed and he deemed it imprudent to enter the tower and risk getting spotted. Perhaps, if he followed the redheads, who he knew were Harry and Acquila's friends, he would know of the whereabouts of his kids.

"We knew we'd win, didn't we, Georgie?"

"Aye Freddie!"

"I wouldn't have lost if Harry was here," Sirius' ears perked up as Ron mentioned Harry.

"Ah! But Harry is off with Acquila, isn't he?" said Fred.

"I wish I was with them too. Nymphadora is fun to be with. Harry and Acquila get to spend the vacations with their cool cousin. And I end up with my annoying brothers- two identical gits and a prudish prefect," Ron said grumpily.

"Oi! We're not gits!"

"On the contrary..."

"You should be glad..."

"We're letting you..."

"Play..."

The sounds of the twins talking faded away as Sirius walked back to the forest. Though happy that Harry and Acquila were spending vacations with Andromeda, he felt inwardly sad that he wouldn't get to see his daughter for a few days. He had thought that Acquila would be inquisitive enough to come looking for the dog.

But Sirius would now have to wait for her to come back. Perhaps, he could spend a few days in the cave at Hogsmeade till the school term began again.

...

After breakfast that morning, Acquila and Harry went to Nymphadora's room.

"Umm…Dora, can I ask you something?" asked Acquila.

"Of course, you can," she said as she stood before the mirror, trying to morph her nose and hair. A moment later, Harry started guffawing with laughter as Tonks had turned into a perfect replica of Professor Snape wearing Dora's pink t-shirt and blue skirt with a wide smile on his face.

"Dora! I'm serious!" said Acquila, trying hard to control her laughter.

"Nah! Sirius is your father!" she said cheekily as Harry dissolved into another laughing fit.

After the three of them had stopped laughing, Acquila asked Nymphadora, "Can a human being turn into an animal using magic?"

"Think of turning Malfoy into a Flobberworm?" Dora replied cheekily as Harry started laughing again, imagining a flobberworm with blonde hair and a nasty sneer on its face.

"No, Dora," replied Acquila. "I mean can someone turn himself into an animal?"

"Yes. If he or she is an Animagus?"

"Animagus?" asked Acquila and Harry, who had stopped laughing, together.

"An Animagus can morph himself into an animal at will."

"Meaning like you can morph yourself?"

"No. Metamorphmagi like me are born. It's a hereditary skill. But you have to learn how to becme an Animagus. It isn't an inborn skill. Generally, only powerful and skilled witches and wizards can become Animagi, since the transformation process is long and arduous. And if it backfires, it can go horribly wrong. But why are you asking me this?" Dora asked her.

"I…I was just wondering if something like that exists in Magic…" she replied unconvincingly.

"Alright! You can read this book," she said thrusting a book at Acquila. "I wanted to try being an Animagus, so I bought this book at Flourish and Botts. But it isn't my cup of tea," Dora smiled.

"Thanks, Dora!" said Harry and Acquila in unison as they rushed to Acquila's room to read the book.

"I think the dog was my father! What if he's an Animagus!" exclaimed Acquila excitedly, once they reached her room.

"He might be!" said Harry, just as excited.

But half an hour into reading the book, their hopes were extinguished. They had learnt that there were only seven Animagi in the twentieth century, and none of them was Sirius.

"What if your dad was an unregistered Animagi?" said Harry on sensing Acquila's gloominess.

"Why wouldn't he register himself? Didn't you read what the book said? Non-registration can lead to a sentence in Azkaban. Why wouldn't he register himself?"

"You're right," Harry sighed dejectedly. "Hey! Why don't we ask Dora if she knows anything about Nicholas Flamel?"

"Oh yes! We can!" she exclaimed, her gloominess vanishisng.

"Dora! Do you know who's Nicholas Flamel?" she asked Nymphadora.

Dora stood up, her hands on her hips, and stared at them in an almost McGonagall-like way.

"Would both of you tell me what's going on? First, you ask me about Animagi; and now you're asking me about Nicholas Flamel. And I know for a fact, that both these topics aren't even in the first year syllabus, not that I think you both are the types who would study during vacations," she said.

"Oh come on, Dora! Just tell us who he is," said Acquila.

"Hermione wanted to know who he is…she sent us a letter asking if we know who he is…you know how she likes to read books all day…" put in Harry lamely.

"Fine," huffed Dora, though she still seemed unconvinced.

"Nicholas Flamel made the Philosopher's Stone. He's around six hundred-odd years old. And he's Dumbledore's friend."

"Philosopher's Stone?" asked Harry.

"The Stone produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. And it also transforms any metal into pure gold."

"Wow!" gasped Acquila.

"Thank you, Dora," said Harry as he dragged Acquila back to his room, where they discussed what they had just learnt about the Nicholas Flamel and the Stone before Andromeda called them down, wanting to tell them something.

"I have to tell you something," she said to Harry and Acquila.

"Something Dumbledore told you?" asked Acquila shrewdly.

"Yes. He told me who killed Athena. And betrayed your parents," she said, looking at Harry.

"Who?" gasped Harry and Acquila in unison.

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Peter?" muttered Acquila, wondering where she had heard the name.

And then, she remembered Remus' words at the Orphanage.

_I just…just blindly believed that he was at fault…blindly believed that he killed thirteen muggles and Peter…_

"They thought my father had killed Peter," she whispered.

"Yes, Acquila," said Andromeda as she launched into a narration of all that Dumbledore had told her that day.

"I am going to kill him!" snarled Harry as the others in the room felt a strange magic vibrating within the room, which seemed to originate from Harry.

"Calm down, Harry," said Andromeda.

"Where is Pettigrew?" asked Acquila.

"Nobody knows, dear. But Dumbledore said that Remus and Moody are looking for him."

"I'm going to kill him when I get my hands on him! He led my parents to their deaths, he killed Acquila's mom! Acquila's dad was in Azkaban due to him! And that man is still alive!" thundered Harry as he paced around the room. Acquila and Dora gaped at his unusual display of anger.

Nyx who had been sitting on the floor, jumped onto Acquila's lap and mewed at her, as if wanting to tell her something. But Acquila was too busy thinking of ways to capture Pettigrew, to pay any attention to her cat.

"Why hasn't Dumbledore told the Aurors? They can look for Pettigrew," said Acquila.

"Nobody will believe what Dumbledore says unless Pettigrew is caught. Your memories of watching Peter kill Athena when the Dementors attacked you and Harry won't hold weight with the Ministry, dear; especially with Fudge. The only way for Sirius to be declared innocent is if Pettigrew is caught..."

"But that's so unfair!" said Harry furiously.

"I know, Harry. But the wizarding world has been known to be unfair on more than one occasion," said Ted sadly as Harry and Acquila further ranted about the unfairness of the world.

...

"Harry? Acquila?" said Andromeda as the five of them came home after their dinner at a city hotel, with five minutes for the New Year to set in.

"Yes, Aunt Andromeda?"

"I wish you both didn't have to go back to Hogwarts day after tomorrow," she sighed. "I love having you both here. Even if Sirius isn't declared innocent by the time your summer vacations start, I promise you I'll think of something to ensure that you don't have to stay with the Malfoys, Acquila," she said as she hugged the girl.

"And Harry, you aren't going back to those vile Muggles. I'm going to talk to Dumbledore about this matter. Would you like to live with us during the vacations? As a family?" she asked him.

"Yes," he replied happily as she pulled him into a hug.

As the clock struck twelve and signaled the start of a new year, the two eleven-year olds had wide grins on their faces, glad to finally have a family who loved and cared for them.

...

One day before term began, Hermione entered the common room hoping to meet Harry, Ron and Acquila but instead she found only Ron sitting by the fire place on an armchair; he seemed to be trying to play chess with himself!  
"Hello, Ron!"  
"Hermione! Thank Merlin you're back! I'm going completely mental since the past few days with only Percy and the twins for company. Fred and George won't let me into their pranks and Percy is too boring," he exclaimed.

"Where are Harry and Acquila?"

"They're at Dora's place," Ron replied.  
"When did Dora come back?"  
"On the day of Acquila's ball at Malfor Manor. You won't believe what happened! Acquila and Harry had a fight and they stopped talking to each other and then Harry went to Malfoy's place to apologise to her…"  
"What! Stop kidding, Ronald! Harry and Acquila fighting seems impossible! And even more impossible is Harry going to Malfoy Manor! You are making all this up, aren't you?"  
"He's telling the truth, Hermione," said Acquila, as she entered through the portrait hole followed by Harry.

"Acquila!" Hermione let out an almost Lavender-like squeal and rushed towards Acquila, hugging her while Harry and Ron grinned at each other.  
"My God! What did you fight on? Are you both talking now? How did you end up at Malfoy's house for the ball?" Hermione rattled off questions one after the other.  
"Forget all that! We have something important to tell you," Harry interrupted her.  
As they all sat huddled up before the fireplace in the Common Room, Acquila tried putting the Muffliato spell which Remus had taught her; but they had no way of knowing if it worked, since nobody entered the Common Room.

"Now tell me!" said Hermione impatiently as Harry and Acquila launched into an explanation of what Nymphadora had told them about Nicholas Flamel.

"We're so stupid!" Hermione exclaimed. "We were searching for Nicholas Flamel in the wrong books. The only books we referred to were on recent developments in alchemy. We should have checked Ancient alchemy too."  
"Bloody hell! You're right, Hermione!" Ron put in. "So the thing that Snape is after, is the Philosopher's stone. That can't be good."  
"We should warn Professor Dumbledore about Snape, before he finds a way to steal it," suggested Hermione.  
"We don't have any proof against Snape! I'm sure it isn't him. Draco said he is a nice person, he just looks intimidating," said Acquila.

"Malfoy is a git, Acquila; and a Slytherin as well. He obviously thinks Snape's nice. And Snape's always partial to him. Haven't you noticed him fawning over Malfoy's potions in class?" retorted Ron.

"Oh come on, Ron. Snape _never_ fawns over anyone's Potions. And I observed him at the party. He seemed pretty friendly with the people at the ball…"

"There were death-eaters at the ball, Acquila! And he was friendly…"

"Calm down, calm down," Hermione interrupted them, before the argument could escalate.

"And anyway, whether Snape is after the stone or not, Professor Dumbledore won't believe us without proof," put in Harry.

"We'll think of a way to catch the culprit red-handed," said Hermione. "Now enough of Snape and the stone. Tell me about your fight and the ball."

Over the next hour, Acquila and Harry told them all about the ball, of Sirius being innocent, Peter's guilt and the dog which Acquila had seen.

"I hope they find Peter before the Aurors or Dementors find your dad, Acquila," said Hermione.

"I wish we could do something to help," said Harry as Acquila nodded hopefully.

"Don't worry, mate! They'll find him. Dad always said that Moody was one of the best Aurors the Ministry had," Ron assured them.

...

_Later that night,_

"Please, don't go," Hermione said, for the fifth time that night. "You'll get caught. It's almost midnight. And there are Dementors lurking everywhere. I'm sure they can sense you even with the invisibility cloak on."

"We are going, Hermione," Acquila said. "I know the dog is connected to my father."

"But your father can't have been an Animagus. He isn't registered!"

"I know. But I know there's some connection between the dog and my father."

"It isn't a dog! It's a grim! Stay away from it! You will die if you see it," said Ron, a terrified look on his face.

"Don't be silly, Ron! Ifit was a grim I would have died that day itself, when I spent around half an hour with it," Acquila retorted, rolling her eyes at Ron's needless fear.

"Yea! We're going," said Harry and took out his invisibility cloak from his pocket and a moment later, both Acquila and Harry disappeared under it.

They walked to the castle entrance undetected and then stepped into the cool night. They walked towards the lake looking all around for the bear-like dog.

And that's when they spotted Dumbledore, standing a few meters ahead of them. They quickly backtracked a few paces, hoping Dumbledore hadn't heard them. But then, Harry suddenly realised that it wasn't of any use. Dumbledore could see through his invisibility cloak, as he had done the day Harry first met him in the room which contained the Mirror of Erised. And he took the cloak off him and Acquila.

"Ah! Wandering around after curfew under that admirable cloak, Harry? Acquila? Reminds me of your fathers," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "You shouldn't be out of your beds. If it was Severus or Minerva who had caught you, you would have been spending a week-long detention," he chuckled, as Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

Dumbledore didn't seem to be angry with them. Acquila, meanwhile, said nothing; still angry with the Headmaster for not telling her of Peter Pettigrew.

"Sorry Professor," Harry said sheepishly.

"Hogwarts is surrounded by Dementors. I'm sure you both do not wish to be attacked again. You might not be as lucky this time as you were that day. Fate isn't always lenient, Mr. Potter. May I ask you why you both are out here at this time of the night?" the Headmaster asked them curiously.

"We came to look…" began Harry but Acquila elbowed him, knowing he was about to mention the dog, and said,

"We heard there are secret passages which lead out of Hogwarts. We thought of looking for them."

"Are you sure, Acquila?" asked Dumbledore looking into her eyes.

"Yes, I am," she said defiantly, not wanting to trust Dumbledore with her suspicions regarding the Dog.

"Off you go then. And the next time I see you here after curfew, you will surely have to face detention with Argus, which I am sure isn't something you would want to do," smiled Dumbledore as Harry and Acquila turned and left for the tower.

When he saw the two kids enter the castle, he looked around the lake, wanting to know what the two were looking for.

But all he saw was a pair of green eyes which glimmered under the moonrays. It was Nyx. After a small pat on the feline's head, Dumbledore went back to his office, not noticing Nyx walk deep into the forest to tell a certain dog, the events of the past few days, and that the kids probably wouldn't venture out to meet him, thanks to Dumbledore's warning.

...

Some days later, after Quidditch practice, Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where he found Ron and Acquila playing exploding snap, while Hermione sat beside them, reading an enormous book.

"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Ron when Harry sat down next to him, "I need to concen -"

He caught sight of Harry's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."

Acquila looked up at Harry too.

"What's wrong Harry?"

Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, Harry told the other three about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.

"Don't play," said Hermione at once.

"Say you're ill," said Ron.

"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.

"Really break your leg," said Ron.

"I can't," said Harry. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."

"You don't need to be scared of Snape, Harry," said Acquila, rolling her eyes at Ron and Hermione's suggestions. "You came all the way to Malfoy Manor with him unscathed and you still think he wants to kill you?"

"You know what happened in the last match, right? Snape tried to curse Harry off his broom. If it wasn't for Hermione, Merlin knows what would have happened!" exclaimed Ron as Hermione blushed slightly at the compliment.

"But it wasn't Snape who was cursing Harry's broom! It was Quirrell," Acquila snapped.

Before Ron could retort, Harry quickly added, "I'm not scared that he'll kill me. He can't do it when the whole school is watching. I'm worried that he'll favour the Hufflepuffs so that we don't surpass Slytherin in house points," ending the argument.

As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous, whatever he told Acquila, Ron and Hermione. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?

Harry knew, when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon before the match, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again, on the other hand Acquila was confident that nothing would go wrong.

Acquila, Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why Ron and Hermione looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match. Acquila assured Neville that nothing was wrong. She shook her head exasperatedly at Ron and Hermione as they discussed the incantation for the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd been practicing it, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.

"Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis," Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.

"I know," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."

"You won't need it! I'm telling you, nothing is going to happen. And you think Snape will do anything to hurt Harry when Dumbledore's here?" Acquila tried to assure them for what seemed to her like the hundredth time.

"I've never seen Snape look so mean," Ron told them. "Look -they're off… Ouch!"

Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."

"Hello, Acquila," Draco added, grasping Acquila's hand and kissing it lightly, and then smirking at Ron who glared daggers at him.

"Oh Draco, we aren't at the ball!" giggled Acquila, wondering why Draco had kissed her hand and then turned her gaze back to the Quidditch field.

"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time?" Malfoy whispered to Ron, so that Acquila wouldn't hear him. "Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"

Ron ignored him; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George had hit a Bludger at him. Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch; while Acquila was cheering for Harry unaware of Malfoy's antics.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" whispered Malfoy, a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all.

"It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."

Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.

"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."

"Shush! Are you guys here to watch the match or to talk to each other?" snapped Acquila, annoyed at the laughter and whispering.

"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something," Draco whispered to Ron and Neville.

Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.

He turned to Draco and said, "I'm warning you, Malfoy - one more word…"

"Ron!" said Acquila and Hermione suddenly, "Harry -"

"What? Where?" Ron exclaimed; looking back at the pitch for Harry.

Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet; while Acquila started cheering even louder.

"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy, making certain that Acquila wouldn't hear him.

And before Draco knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.

"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape - she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Acquila who was concentrating on Harry, turned behind to tell Ron and it was then that she noticed the ongoing fist fight.

"Stop it! Stop fighting! Draco! Neville!" Acquila screamed, but the boys paid no heed to her.

She then concentrated on the five squabbling boys, and a few seconds later, they had all turned immobile.

Acquila whooped in delight as she finally managed what McGonagall had tried to teach her-casting a freezing charm wandlessly.

"You guys are staying like this till the match is over," she told them with a smirk.

Up in the air, Acquila saw a red blur zooming past Snape. It was Harry! He pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand. The stands erupted; with Acquila cheering loudly. It had to be a record; no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Acquila who was standing next to her, just as ecstatic.

When Hermione turned around, she grinned at the five frozen boys and then unfroze them with a flick of her wand.

"What happened? You froze them, didn't you?" Hermione asked Acquila, as they boys were struggling to get to their feet.

Acquila nodded.

"Now tell me. Why were you all fighting?"

"Malfoy started it!" spat Ron.

"He's lying, Acquila! Weasley and Longbottom started it!" Draco said defensively.

"Oh Draco, you expect me to believe that Neville started a fight? You're lying, aren't you?" Acquila asked him.

"It's not like that..." started Draco, but Ron chimed in. "He said I'm poor! And he said Neville doesn't have brains!" he said, the tips of his ears turning red.

"So what's wrong in what I said, Weasel? You _are_ poor," Draco sneered.

"DRACO! That's such a rude thing to say! Apologise to Ron!" exclaimed Acquila furiously.

"I'm not apologising to the Weasel, Acquila. I'm a Malfoy! And I said nothing wrong!" Draco retorted indignantly.

"Draco!"

"I'm not apologising to him!" he said in disgust.

"Then don't talk to me," Acquila snapped and started making her way down the stands towards the pitch, followed by Hermione, Ron and Neville.

"But, Acquila…"

"No, Draco! You're my cousin, and I love you a lot, but you can't keep insulting my friends. If you want to talk to me, then you have to be civil to my friends; and that includes Ron and Neville!"

"So you are choosing Weasley and Longbottom over me?"

"I am, till you learn to stop picking on my friends, and own up to your mistakes," she said and walked away, leaving a seething Draco in her wake.

They congratulated Harry and headed back to the castle, as Harry went to the locker room. Along the way, Acquila gave Ron an animated explanation on how Harry had caught the snitch.

...

After an hour, Harry came running through the 7th floor corridor and spotted Acquila, Ron and Hermione in a deep discussion about the match.

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione squeaked.

"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! Talk about showing Slytherin! And Acquila cast a wandless freezing charm on us! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."

"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait till you hear this..."

He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them.

"What is it, Harry?" Acquila asked.

"When I went to the broom closet to keep my Nimbus I spotted Snape, walking towards the Forbidden Forest. So I followed him on my broom."

"Why was he going there? It's Forbidden..." Ron asked.

"I'm getting to that," said Harry, "A few metres into the forest he met up with Professor Quirrell. It sounded like Snape was threatening him to help him get past the three-headed dog. And he told him to decide soon about where his loyalties lie. I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through -"

"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Hermione in alarm.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron. "See, Acquila. It was Snape all along."

"I still feel you are wrong. Quirrell is the one behind all this. Snape may seem the most likely person to do something dark but, most of the times, the person who seems weak is the one who's the culprit," said Acquila, still determined that she was right.

"But Acquila, I heard Snape threaten Quirrell and not the other way round," said Harry exasperatedly.

"For all we know, Snape could be threatening him so that he stays away from the dog. And you said you missed some of the conversation when you accidently slipped of the branch," Said Acquila.

"It _is_ Snape!" said Hermione. "It is _him_! We've been observing him since the troll incident. Everything leads to him."

"We should observe Quirrell too, then. What if he's putting on an act of being a scared, stuttering Professor?" said Acquila.

"Okay, okay. From now on we'll keep an eye on both Snape and Quirrell," Said Harry with no real conviction in his voice. He was sure Snape was the one who was after the stone.

Quirrell, however, seemed to be braver than they'd thought. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.

Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Acquila, Harry, Ron, and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Stone was still safe. Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, Ron had started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter. But Acquila was still pretty convinced that Quirrell was the one who wanted the stone.

Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Philosopher's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes. Acquila, Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.

"Hermione, the exams are ages away," said Acquila.

"Ten weeks," Hermione snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."

"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know everything."

"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me..."

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spent most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work. Acquila was the most relaxed of all of them. She hardly studied, but yet when Hermione asked her any kind of question she almost always knew the answer.

"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming. Acquila had kept aside her Charms book and was reading a book titled 'Muggles and their Machines'.

"It is so weird reading about machines from a wizard's point of view. They seem to think they are dangerous."

Harry, who was looking up "Dittany" in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher's St -" he continued till Hagrid shushed him.

"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"

"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh -"

"See you later, then," said Acquila.

Hagrid shuffled off.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?" Acquila asked suspiciously.

"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.

"Dragons!" he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," said Harry.

"But it's against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden - anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."

"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.

"Of course there are," said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."

"So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.

When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed.

Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.

It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.

"So - yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Yes," said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at him.

"Of course I can't, he said.

"Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice.

Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really," Hermione went on.

Acquila picked up the cue and said, "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest swelled at these words. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione and Acquila.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall -" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell - an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?"

"Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."

Harry knew Ron and Hermione were thinking the same as he was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything - except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.

Acquila, on the other hand was thinking the complete opposite. Quirrell would have wanted Snape's help to get past his enchantments and also, he didn't yet know how to get past Fluffy.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy. Aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously.

"And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?" asked Acquila.

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.

"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."

"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry noticed him glance at the fire. Harry looked at it, too.

"Hagrid - what's that?" Acquila asked.

But she already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.

"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's er..."

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin' , said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library - Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on I em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognize diff'rent eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.

"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," she said.

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.

So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed, as they walked back to the castle.

…...

One day at breakfast, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid.

He had written only two words: _It's hatching._

Acquila and Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione wouldn't hear of it.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing -"

"Shut up!" Harry whispered.

Draco was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard? Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.

"Acquila, ask him if he heard anything," said Harry.

"No. You know I'm not talking to him. And even if he heard us, he doesn't have any idea what we were talking about," said Acquila.

Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the others during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the four of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.

"It's nearly out."

He ushered them inside.

The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.

They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry whispered to Acquila about how he thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.

"Hagrid," said Hermione, "How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face - he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.

"What's the matter?"

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school."

Acquila and Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him. Malfoy had seen the dragon.

"Oh no!" Acquila groaned.

...

Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made all of them very nervous.

"You need to talk to Malfoy about the dragon, Acquila. Convince him not to tell anyone," said Harry.

"I don't want to talk to him, Harry."

"Please. For Hagrid's sake. We need to do something."

"Ok. I'll go talk to him," she said in defeat.

That night, Acquila caught up with Draco after dinner.

"Draco, wait! I need to talk to you."

Draco stopped and turned to look at her.

"Alone," she said, referring to Crabbe and Goyle who were following him like bodyguards. After they left, she said, "Draco, you know about the dragon, don't you?"

"So what if I do?"

"Please don't tell anyone about it…"

"So that's the only reason you have come to talk to me?" he exclaimed, hurt and anger apparent in his tone.

"Please… You can't tell anyone," said Acquila, ignoring his question.

"Okay. I won't tell anyone," he smirked, "But only if you promise to stop talking to Potter, Weasley and Granger and start hanging out with me and my friends."

"How can you even say that! I won't stop talking to them! They are my friends and if you want me in your life then you have to accept them too," Acquila replied furiously.

"Then Hagrid's dragon won't be a secret anymore," Draco said defiantly and walked away.

...

The four of them avoided talking about Draco after Acquila had told them about her conversation with him. Harry knew Acquila was hurt with Draco's behavior, but he preferred Draco being as far away from Acquila as possible.

They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.

"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."

"I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."

They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.

"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"

"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.

"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."

Hagrid bit his lip.

"I - I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."

Harry suddenly turned to Ron. Charlie, he said.

"You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"

"No - Charlie - your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"

"Brilliant!" said Acquila.

"How about it, Hagrid?" exclaimed Ron.

And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie to ask him.

The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron and Acquila appeared out of nowhere, as they pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. They had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.

"It bit me!" he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it."

"Yes," said Acquila, "When we left, he was singing it a lullaby."

There was a tap on the dark window.

"It's Hedwig!" said Harry, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"

The four of them put their heads together to read the note.

_Dear Ron,_

_How are you? Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon._

_Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark._

_Send me an answer as soon as possible._

_Love,_

_Charlie_

They looked at one another.

"We've got the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult - I don't think the cloak is big enough to cover all four of us and Norbert; but two of us can go with the crate."

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other three agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert - and Malfoy.

There was a hitch. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey - would she recognize a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous.

Acquila, Harry and Hermione rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.

"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me - I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me -I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."

They tried to calm Ron down.

"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.

"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no oh no - I've just remembered - Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."

Acquila, Harry and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.

"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Acquila and Hermione. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."

They found Fang, the boarhound, sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.

"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle."

When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.

"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot - jus' playin' - he's only a baby, after all."

The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. They walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.

They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say good-bye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.

"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."

From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded as though the teddy was having his head ripped off.

"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as they covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves.

"Mommy will never forget you!"

Midnight ticked nearer as Acquila, Harry and Hermione heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors.

Then Acquila suddenly stopped.

"What wrong?" Harry asked.

"We can levitate the crate," she suggested. "It will be easier to carry."

She concentrated on the crate and it hovered around in mid-air.

"Why don't we both levitate it using our wands, Acquila?" asked Hermione, worried whether Acquila would be able to levitate it wandlessly till the tower.

"Alright," she said and lowered the crate down gently, and then she and Hemione pointed their wands at it, levitating it together with Harry ensuring that they were walking in the right direction. They could walk much faster now, not having to bodily lug the heavy crate up the stairs. They went up another staircase, then another - even one of the shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.

"Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.

Then, a sudden movement ahead of them almost made them lose their concentration and drop the crate.

Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.

Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Draco by the ear.

"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you -"

"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming - he's got a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.

"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"

"Don't," Harry advised her.

"He deserves it," said Acquila, who was still couldn't believe that Draco wanted her caught by McGonagall.

Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed them the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them.

They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then they shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.

At last, Norbert was going... going... gone.

They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts light, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon - Malfoy in detention - what could spoil their happiness?

The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we are in trouble."

They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.

Things couldn't have been worse.

Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover- up stories chased each other around Harry's brain, each more feeble than the last. Acquila was cursing herself for being so stupid as to forget the invisibility cloak. She couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered.

There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Norbert and the invisibility cloak, and they might as well be packing their bags already.

Had Acquila thought that things couldn't have been worse? She was wrong.

When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.

"Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other three. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag -"

Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the four of them.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."

It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue. Acquila was trying very hard to frame a believable reply.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"

Harry and Acquila caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Neville - they knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.

"No Professor…" Acquila started to say, but McGonagall cut her off.

"I don't want any excuses. I'm disgusted. And I'm so disappointed, Ms. Black. I never expected this of you," said Professor McGonagall and Acquila felt guilty like never before. She knew McGonagall had a soft spot for her, or rather as soft a spot as the strict and impartial McGonagall could have for a student; and Acquila had let the Professor down.

"Five students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All four of you will receive detentions - yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous - and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"Fifty?" Harry gasped - they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.

"Professor – please," said Acquila.

"You can't -" Harry began.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of my Gryffindors."

Two hundred points lost. That puts Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the house cup. Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. Acquila had never felt this ashamed of herself before this. How could they ever make up for this?

Neville had already started sobbing on the way back to the Gryffindor common room. Acquila couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done? She knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep at all.

At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have two hundred points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter and Acquila Black, had lost them all those points, them and a couple of other stupid first years.

From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the house cup. Things weren't that different for Acquila. Most of the students had avoided her because of her family name and her father, and now even those who were friendly with her had started ignoring her. Everywhere they went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted them. The Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as they walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Potter, we owe you one! And Black, we knew you were on our side since the start, after all, most of your family has been in Slytherin since centuries!"

Only Ron stood by them.

"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."

"They've never lost two hundred points in one go, though, have they?" said Harry miserably.

"Well - no," Ron admitted.

It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Acquila and Harry swore to each other not to meddle in things that weren't their business from now on. They'd had it with sneaking around and spying.

Hermione and Neville were suffering, too. They didn't have as bad a time as Acquila and Harry, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them, either. Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence.

They were almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying they had to do kept their mind off their misery. Acquila, Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells by heart, memorise the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions.

...

Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Acquila and Harry's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern them was put to an unexpected test. They were walking back from the library one afternoon, when they heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As they drew closer, they heard Quirrell's voice.

"No - no - not again, please -"

It sounded as though someone was threatening him. They looked at each other, deciding to move closer.

"All right - all right -" they heard Quirrell sob.

The next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry. He strode out of sight.

They waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, and then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end.

Harry was halfway toward it before Acquila reminded him of their promise about not meddling.

"I can bet twelve Philosopher's Stones that Snape must have just left the room from that door," said Harry.

"I don't think anyone else was in the room with Quirrell, Harry. We didn't even hear another pair of footsteps," said Acquila.

"Quirrell wouldn't have been threatening himself, Acquila!" Harry rolled his eyes. Acquila's constant defending of Snape had started annoying him now. "It was certainly Snape who must have been there, threatening Quirrell again. You have to believe us now, Quirrell is not guilty. Or why would he be sobbing?"

"No, Harry. I still think there's something is fishy about him. Something doesn't seem right."

"I think Quirrell seems to have given in to Snape. Snape knows how to get past Quirrell's enchantments now," said Harry, not listening to what Acquila was saying. "So the only thing he doesn't know yet is how to get through Fluffy."

They bickered all the way to the library where Hermione was testing Ron on Astronomy. They told them what they'd heard.

"Snape's done it, then!" said Ron. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell -"

"There's still Fluffy, though," said Hermione.

"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Ron, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So what do we do, Harry?"

The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before Harry could.

"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."

"But we've got no proof!" said Harry. "Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor - who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."

Acquila was just listening to them, not bothering to speak. She knew that none of them believed that Quirrell might be the real culprit. She made up her mind to keep an eye on Quirrell more closely. She had to get proof to show them that he was the one they should be tracking.

The following morning, notes were delivered to Acquila, Harry, Hermione, and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same:

_Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall._

_Professor McGonagall _

Acquila and Harry had forgotten that they still had detentions to do in the furor over the points they'd lost and Quirrell. She half expected Hermione to complain that this was a whole night of studying lost, but she didn't say a word.

At eleven o'clock that night, they said good-bye to Ron in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch was already there - and so was Malfoy, whom Acquila just glared at. They hadn't spoken at all since the argument they had.

"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.

"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them. "Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed... Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."

They marched off across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing. Acquila and Harry looked at each other wondering what their punishment was going to be. It seemed to be something really macabre, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted.

The moon was bright, but the clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, they could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

Harry, Acquila and Hermione smiled; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. Their relief must have showed in their faces, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

At this, Neville let out a little moan, and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.

"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual.

"We can't go in there at night - there's all sorts of things in there - werewolves, I heard."

Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry's robe and made a choking noise.

"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.

"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Acquila, Harry, Hermione?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.

"I'm not going in that forest, he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice. Acquila couldn't believe Draco was a coward; he seemed more scared then even Neville.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yehve got ter pay fer it."

"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or Yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on"

Malfoy didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze.

"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.

"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So me, Acquila, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now - that's it - an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh - so, be careful - let's go."

The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Acquila, Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Neville, and Fang took the right.

They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.

Harry saw that Hagrid looked very worried.

"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.

"Not fast enough," said Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."

"What do you think must be killing them?" Acquila asked.

"That vat we hav ter find out." Hagrid answered.

They walked past a mossy tree stump. They could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.

"You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter – GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

Hagrid seized Acquila, Harry and Hermione and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The three of them listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.

"I knew it," he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."

"A werewolf?" Harry suggested.

"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."

They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.

"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself - I'm armed!"

And into the clearing came - was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Acquila, Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped.

"A centaur!" Acquila whispered to the other two, looking at it in awe.

"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?"

He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.

"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"

"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow.

"There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is Harry Potter, Acquila Black an' Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan. He's a centaur."

"We'd noticed," said Hermione faintly.

"Good evening," said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"

"Erm -"

"A bit," said Hermione timidly.

"A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."

"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt - you seen anythin'?"

Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again.

"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"

"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."

"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home," said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"

Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."

A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.

"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"

"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"

"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured - would yeh know anythin' about it?"

Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward. "Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.

"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."

Acquila, Harry and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.

"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."

"Are there many of them in here?" asked Acquila.

"Oh, a fair few... Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs... they know things... jus' don' let on much."

"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Harry.

"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns - never heard anythin' like it before."

They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Harry kept looking nervously over his shoulder. He whispered to Acquila that he had the nasty feeling they were being watched. He was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.

"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"

"You wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"

They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.

"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.

"I don't care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville... it's our fault he's here in the first place," said Harry.

"That is rude, Harry. I know I'm angry with Draco, but I wouldn't want anything to happen to him. I hope both of them are fine," said Acquila indignantly.

The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. They seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others? At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Malfoy, Neville, and Fang were with him. Hagrid was fuming. Malfoy, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him as a joke. Neville had panicked and sent up the sparks.

"Draco! Why did you scare Neville?" said Acquila, outraged.

"Not my fault that your friends are such cowards," he said coldly.

Before Acquila could retort, Hagrid said gruffly, "Enough! We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two are makin'. Right, we're changin' groups - Neville, you stay with me Acquila an' Hermione. Harry, you go with Fang an' this idiot. I'm sorry," Hagrid added in a whisper to Harry, "but he'll have a harder time frightenin' you, an' we've gotta get this done."

"I'll go with Harry," said Acquila.

"Nah, don't want yeh arguin' with Malfoy and makin' any more noise," said Hagrid.

Acquila gave Harry a sad look. And she also shot a warning glare at Draco, not wanting him to give Harry any trouble while they trekked through the forest.

So Harry set off into the heart of the forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Harry thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.

"Look -" he murmured, holding out his arm to stop Malfoy.

Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.

It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead.

Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered...

As Harry and Malfoy centered their attention from the place where the slithering sound was emanating, they failed to notice the creature which had been following them since they had parted ways with Hagrid and the three other students.

Sirius stood behind Draco and Harry, wanting to protect his Godson from the dangers which lurked in the forest. He had been following them since they had started trekking through the forest with Hagrid; though he had maintained a big enough distance from them, so that Hagrid's keen ears wouldn't hear his padded feet walking through the forest.

Watching the two-black haired children walking through the Forest had reminded Sirius of the Marauders' adventures on full-moon nights. He had even wanted to go to Harry and Acquila when Hagrid had gone to look for the Malfoy boy; but due to Hermione's presence, he had refrained from doing so. And when the group had split into two, he had preferred following Harry and Malfoy, knowing he couldn't trust Lucius' Malfoy's spawn anywhere near Harry.

From out of the shadows where Harry and Draco were staring, Sirius saw a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood. Even Sirius stood shell-shocked, never having seen anything of this sort in all his years as a student who frequented the Forest, and as an Auror.

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted - so did Fang. If Sirius had been in his human form, he would definitely have given Narcissa's cowardly brat a piece of his mind for deserting Harry.

Meanwhile, the hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry - unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry - he couldn't move for fear.

And a moment later, as Sirius rushed towards his Godson, he heard Harry let out a gut-wrenching scream and clutch at his forehead.

At the same time, on the other side of the forest Acquila screamed too. She felt a sudden stab of pain in her forehead, and she somehow knew that it was Harry who was in danger.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Harry is in trouble," she said as she started running towards the direction where Harry and Draco had gone.

"Wait! Did yeh see red sparks? Hagrid asked, as his large feet easily kept pace with Acquila's smaller ones.

"No. But I just know he's in danger. We have to go find him," said Acquila as Hermione and Neville caught up with her.

The three children and the half-giant moved as quickly as they could through the close-knit trees; with Acquila hoping that they would reach in time to save Harry.

Meanwhile, Harry- half-blinded with pain, staggered backwards. He heard something behind him, something which came running, and jumped clean over Harry, charging at the figure.

The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. And a huge black dog was standing over him.

As Harry's pain receded, he gaped the Dog.

"You're Acquila's dog!" he gasped, not even bothering to crawl away from the bear-like canine. The dog sat down on its haunches, as if wanting Harry to sit onto it.

"Bow, wow!" it barked, gesturing to its massive back.

"You want me to sit on you?" he whispered in astonishment. He knew he had spoken to a snake in the zoo, but he had never expected himself to be translating a dog's barks as well.

Harry could have sworn that the dog nodded, and rolled its eyes, as if berating Harry for his dim-wittedness in understanding what it was trying to say.

"Bowwww!" it barked again and Harry hesitantly climbed onto the enormous dog's back. The minute Harry put his feet on either side of the dog, it took off, sprinting quickly through the dense forest as Harry held on to it's jet-black neck with one hand, and tried to put his glasses properly onto his face with the other.

Now with Harry safe on his back, Sirius kept running towards where Hagrid and the others were. He suddenly heard hooves behind him and some galloping. It was a Centaur. And from the Centaur's smell, which his canine nose could sniff, he knew it was Firenze.

The Maruaders had known Firenze since they had started venturing into the Forest. And if there was one Centaur whom Sirius could trust with taking Harry back to Hagrid, he knew it was Firenze.

Sirius stopped in his tracks suddenly, tilted backwards; and Harry understanding what he was trying to do, descended onto the ground. The minute Harry was off his back, Sirius sprinted through the bushes, with one last look at James' son.

"Hey! Dog! Come back!" Harry screamed, running after the dog. But the dog was too fast for Harry. As he gave up the chase, he heard something approaching, behind him. He turned fearing it to be the hooded figure but it was a centaur. It was standing over him, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.

...

Meanwhile, the three Gryffindors and Hagrid bolted through the forest, when Hagrid suddenly put his enormous hand out to stop the three children, who banged straight into his hand and fell onto the ground, Acquila falling on top of Hermione who yelled loudly, 'OUCH!'

"Someone's comin'. Make no noise, yeh three," growled Hagrid.

"Aaaaaa! HELP!" they heard a boy's voice coming closer, accompanied by the sound of footsteps sprinting through the ground littered by dried leaves.

"Draco!" gasped Acquila, recognizing his voice.

A moment later, a panting Draco came running into sight, preceded by a scared-looking Fang.

"Draco! What happened? Where's Harry!"

"Where's Harry, boy?" asked Hagrid.

"There's something in the Forest, you big oaf! I told you! Don't make me come into this hell-hole! There's something there! Drinking Unicorn blood!" Draco shouted.

"Where's Harry?" Acquila yelled at him, shaking him by the shoulder. "You left him there?" she screeched as Hermione and Neville too went into an uproar.

"I had to save my life! I couldn't wait there rescuing your Potter-boy!" he retorted and a second later, he found himself flying through the air and tumbling onto the ground.

"HEY!" he exclaimed angrily, knowing it was Acquila who had done it with her wandless magic.

"How could you! I hate you! You coward!" she snapped furiously at him and ran into the direction from where Draco came.

But Draco stood up and ran after her, followed by the others.

"Come back, Acquila! You'll get hurt!"

But she paid him no heed.

"Go back, boy. Take Fang with yeh, yeh coward," Hagrid barked at Draco, who after a moment of hesitation followed the dog back to the Castle.

A few minutes later, the came across Harry, who was standing next to a Centaur.

"Harry!" exclaimed Acquila and flung herself into his arms.

"What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Harry! Harry, are you all right?"

"Yeh ok, Harry?"

Hermione, Neville and Hagrid started questioning him simultenously.

"I'm fine," said Harry, hardly knowing what he was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."

"This is where I leave you," the Centaur murmured, as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."

"Good luck, Harry Potter," he continued. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

"Thank you, Firenze," said Harry as Firenze turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest.

"What happened, Harry? Were you really in danger?" asked Hermione.

"I was! But how did you come to know?" Harry asked her.

"I don't know how, but somehow I knew you were in trouble and we immediately came searching for you. Thank god you are safe!" said Acquila, who had finally let go of him.

"Yeah! Thanks to Firenze and the big black dog. Acquila, I think it was the same one you met at the lake," said Harry in an undertone, not wanting NNeville to hear him.

...

Ron had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. He shouted something about Quidditch fouls when Harry roughly shook him awake. In a matter of seconds, though, he was wide-eyed as Harry began to tell him, Acquila and Hermione what had happened in the forest.

Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was still shaking.

"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort... and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich..."

"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.

"I'm telling you! It isn't Snape!" said Acquila, but Harry wasn't listening.

"The black dog and Firenze saved me, but they shouldn't have done so... Bane was furious...he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen... They must show that Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks they should have let Voldemort kill me... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron hissed.

"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," said Harry.

"Quirrell, not Snape!" Acquila muttered.

But Harry went on feverishly, "Then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off... Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."

Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.

"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

"And Harry, I swear I won't let anything happen to you! None of us will," said Acquila as she grasped Harry's hand, sensing the fear lurking within him. And though he knew none of them could protect him against a dark wizard like Voldemort, he was thankful to have such supportive friends.

An hour of discussion later, as Harry went back to his dormitory, the surprises for the day weren't over yet. He saw his invisibility cloak lying on his bed with a not pinned to it.

_Just in case._

_..._

Remus Lupin sat in his dull motel room with his head cradled in his hands. The search for Pettigrew in this Muggle town too, had been fruitless.

There was no other place Remus could think of, where Pettigrew could have sheltered for ten long years. He had searched everywhere for Peter-searched the residences of Peter's Muggle relatives under a disillusionment charm, checked records in shady Muggle motels and lodges, gone through every place where the Peter Remus knew would have hidden.

He was running out of ideas and most of all he was growing extremely frustrated with each passing day.

It was then that something struck him. He thought of himself in Peter's place. Would he really have hidden in Muggle places if he was Wormtail? Would he live in the muggle world? If Peter was waiting for his master to return he would certainly stay in some place where he could get updates on the wizarding world; like with a wizarding family.

As Remus remembered how fond Pettigrew was of food, he realised that he would never have stayed with other rats, or with a Muggle family. He would have chosen to live with a wizarding family, probably as a pet, so that he would be well-fed, rather than surviving on garbage like normal rats.

Remus let out a string of curses, berating himself for his stupidity. Why hadn't he thought of all this sooner?

Remus stood up and paced around the room. He would have to search wizarding families and their houses. But it wasn't possible to do so, not even under a disillusionment charm. And most wizarding residences were heavily warded to restrict entry to unknown people. And what if Pettigrew was staying with a dark family? Searching for a rat in a place like Malfoy Manor was impossible.

He would have to take Dumbledore's help. He would have to tell Dumbledore about Peter being an animagus. There were only a few weeks left for the school term to end and Remus did not want Acquila to stay at the Malfoys. If they were to find Peter soon, Sirius would be free and Acquila, and possibly even Harry would get to live with him.

...

Dumbledore sat in his office, pondering over what Hagrid told him the Centaurs had said; when suddenly, he saw Remus' wolf materialising in front of him.

'I have to tell you something urgent. Please come as soon as you can,' said the wolf in Remus' voice, but his voice wasn't calm as it always was. It was mingled with what seemed to Dumbledore as guilt.

As the Patronus vanished into thin air, Dumbledore made up his mind to leave immediately.

It was very rare for Remus Lupin to call the Headmaster to meet him, rather than coming to Hogwarts himself. And Dumbledore knew that is was certainly an extremely important matter for which Remus wanted to meet him.

"Fawkes," said Dumbledore softly, and the wise phoenix flew up to Dumbledore who grasped the end of Fawkes' tail gently. And a moment later, Dumbledore stood before Lupin who was sitting on a chair, waiting impatiently for Dumbledore.

"What is it, my boy? Did you find out something about Peter?"

Remus looked at Dumbledore but he didn't answer. To Albus, it seemed like Remus was having an inner conflict with himself. He could see guilt in Remus' amber eyes, and he wondered why Remus of all people seemed so conflicted.

"Remus?" Dumbledore said, urging the werewolf to speak.

"Albus, I have hidden something from you for quite some time. Since I was in fifth year to be exact," he finally replied in a strange tone.

"Go on, Remus."

"I did not tell you before, because it wasn't my secret to share. But with the school term ending in a few weeks, I want Peter to be caught soon, so that Acquila doesn't have to go to the Malfoys. I am sorry, Albus. If I had told you this earlier, Peter would probably have been caught long ago," he said.

"It's never too late, Remus," said Dumbledore softly. "Tell me what the matter is."

"Peter Pettigrew is an Animagus. He is a rat."

And the expression of astonishment on Dumbledore's face was one Remus thought he would never see on the all-knowing wizard's face.

**A/N**: Do let us know how you find this chapter :-)


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:** Finally the chapter I was waiting to write! Hope you like it! Do let us know how you find it!

**Luna Lily Tonks- **Thank you! I hope 'amazingly' is a word, because I use it often too! ;-) Remus tells him only about Wormtail. Hope you like this update too!

**xxSunnyXBlackxx**- Thank you so much! Hoping you like this one as well! :-)

**Misty, Merida, Magicheart5355** - Thanks for the reviews! :-D

**Guest**: Thanks! I hope the chapters you haven't read as yet appeal to you as well! :-)

**PotterHead999**- I was waiting for someone to like the Baby Sirius part! Because I loved imagining and writing of Sirius as a baby! I'm glad you liked it! Love you too! :-)

**Disclaimer:** Everything in the Harry Potter world belongs to J. K. Rowling. Recognisable parts in the latter part of this chapter are from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Chapter 15: Secrets Revealed**

Albus Dumbledore paced around his office, with Remus' words still echoing through his mind.

Peter Pettigrew? An Animagus?

Dumbledore had always considered Peter to be one of the weaker students in his school year. He had been surprised that James, Sirius and Remus had continued being friends with Peter despite his superficial intelligence, his lack of courage and his not-so-great magical abilities.

How on earth had Pettigrew managed to become an Animagus in his fifth year?Albus had questioned Remus repeatedly about it, but Remus had refused to tell him more about it stating himself unwilling to break a promise he had sworn.

"How did he become an Animagus, Remus? And in just his fifth year? For a boy with average magical powers, I would have thought it almost impossible. And as far as I remember, Pettigrew had never been good at Transfiguration," a stunned Dumbledore had asked Remus.

But despite repeated questions on why Pettigrew had felt the need to learn to become an Animagus at the young age of fifteen, why had Remus hidden this fact from Albus for so long, who had helped Peter grasp the process of achieving an Animagus transformation; Remus had refused to reply.

The werewolf did indeed sound guilty for have hidden this important fact which would have probably resulted in Peter being captured long ago. But he had been adamant on revealing nothing else about the matter. And though Albus was a tad annoyed and disappointed with Remus' secretiveness, he had also been proud to see the friendship which Remus shared with his Marauder brothers, and his determination at upholding what he had referred to as a 'Marauder's oath'.

Dumbledore finally sat down on his chair.

A rat! How in Merlin's name was he supposed to look for a rat? Albus agreed with Remus' belief that Pettigrew was probably hiding with a wizarding family.

But a dark family?Albus thought it unlikely. Severus had told Albus of the furious tirades which the Death-eaters had launched into when Voldemort had been reduced to nothing but a piece of soul that fateful Halloween night. Though Severus hadn't known who the spy had been, he had heard Voldemort's followers rant against the one who had sent the Dark Lord to the Potters' house at Godric's hollow. They held the spy responsible for Voldemort's fall.

That coupled with the fact that the Death-eaters probably knew of Pettigrew being a rat Animagus, made Dumbledore sure that Peter wouldn't have taken shelter with a family loyal to Voldemort. But with Remus'belief of Peter sheltering with a magical family making sense, that left the families who were either on the side of the Light side or those who had remained neutral during the war.

But Dumbledore knew that well-off wizarding families would probably not have had a rat as a pet. They would stick to pets like cats or owls.

So now, what Albus had to do was to search the residences of wizarding families of average financial wealth who could possibly own a pet rat.

A visit to Alastor Moody was in order. Having dealt with dark wizards and criminals for decades, Moody would probably have a much better insight into the rat Animagus' mind.

But that could wait for the next morning. The more pressing matter was what Hagrid had told him.

What could have been killing unicorns to drink their blood? What creature had caused Harry to collapse in the pain that seized his scar?

It all led to one person- Voldemort. And that meant that Voldemort had managed to get into Hogwarts. But how? Where was Tom Riddle? How had he managed to get into Hogwarts despite Dumbledore strengthening the wards? Despite the Dementors manning the boundaries of the Castle? How?

...

Meanwhile in the Forbidden Forest, an enormous black dog stood sniffing the ground next to the slain Unicorn from which the cloaked figure had drunk blood.

Unicorn Blood.

In his years as an Auror and a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius Black had come across many gory scenes- the dead bodies of the Prewett brothers whom he had looked up to in his Auror days; all of Athena's familylying dead at the McKinnon mansion; Muggle toddlers tortured with the Crutiatus curse… But he had dealt with it all with a thorough sense of professionalism, keeping aside his emotions and the gut-wrenching feeling he felt everytime he came across a victim of Voldemort and his follower's crimes.

But on seeing the dead Unicorn and the cloaked person drinking its blood had sent a chill down Sirius' spine and had his insides churning as he wryly wondered where his Auror persona, which had been almost emotionally-detached from whatever crime scenes he had come across, had disappeared.

He had followed Harry and Firenze, almost wanting to charge at Bane when he argued with Firenze. Once Firenze had got rid of Bane and Ronan, he had known that the young Centaur would certainly take Harry to safety.

He had then run off into the other direction to make sure Acquila was okay; and had thus missed out on listening to what Firenze had told Harry about Voldemort and the stone.

After ensuring that Hagrid had taken the children to the Castle safely, Sirius had gone back to the place where he had seen the cloaked figure drink the blood of the dead Unicorn.

The dog sniffed the ground next to the Unicorn. He couldn't place the scent of the person. It wasn't one of the teachers who had taught Sirius. Nor was it Severus-who Nyx had told him, taught Potions at Hogwarts. But mingled with the person's scent, was another strange trace of a dark presence, which Sirius could sense, thanks to his years of Auror training.

Sirius stood sniffing the ground and following the person's trail, but it seemed to vanish from a spot a bit further away.

Where had the person disappeared? And who would want to do a monstrous thing like drinking Unicorn blood to remain alive? It was the darkest of deeds one could commit. Killing a pure and defenseless creature like a Unicorn and drinking its blood would give the drinker a cursed life. Facing death was a better alternative to living a half-life!

The only wizard Sirius thought capable of using Unicorn blood to ensure his existence would have been Voldemort. But Voldemort was dead, wasn't he? Harry had defeated him that night in Godric's Hollow! Voldemort couldn't possibly be back.

Then who was the person who killed the Unicorn? And why had Harry's scar ached? Sirius had almost transformed into his human form on seeing Harry collapsing in pain, his hands clutching his scar. What had happened to Prongslet? Why had the person affected him, without even a curse being cast?

Sirius knew Harry's scar was a result of the curse Voldemort had cast at him. The only person who could affect Harry this way was Voldemort.

But Voldemort was dead! Dead, vanquished, defeated! So how could it have been Voldemort?

A meeting with Nyx was now the first thing on Sirius' agenda. He would have to get more information on the kids and the person who killed the Unicorn.

And Sirius would have to increase his efforts to trace the rat. Once the traitor was caught, Sirius would ensure that nothing untoward would happen to his children.

...

"Aaaaargh!"

A loud frustrated scream emanated from the blonde-haired Slytherin.

"Bloody Potter! I hate him!" Draco snarled, pacing around his empty dormitory.

A single 'Get out' and a look at Draco's furious demeanour had been enough for his two side-kicks to scamper out of the dormitory to spend the night sleeping in the Common Room. And since the time Crabbe and Goyle had departed, all Draco had been doing was raving and ranting about Harry to his owl, Elatus, who had the sense to acknowledge Draco's tirade with angry hoots, as if it was agreeing with his words.

Draco didn't even have the courage to write home to his father. Admitting that Acquila had chosen Harry over him, and had used her magic to send Draco flying through the air and tumbling down to the rough Forest ground would certainly merit a severe tongue-lashing from Lucius. And that was something Draco was dreading, especially after Lucius' extreme fury at the argument Draco had had with Harry at the ball, which had had a long mention on page two of the Daily Prophet along with speculation on why Lucius' heir was squabbling with the Saviour of the wizarding world.

Harry bloody Potter! Boy-who-lived! Vanquisher of Voldemort!

Draco snorted at the skinny, bespectacled boy defeating the Dark Lord at just fifteen months of age. Potter was nothing special. He may have defeated Voldemort, but he didn't deserve to be friends with Acquila. Potter was just a half-blood, born to a Mudblood. He had absolutely no right to be such good friends with the last of the Black line, with a Pure-blood like Acquila.

Acquila.

Draco remembered the day his parents had called him to his father's study and told him of their intention to get him married to Acquila when she became of age.

He had run back to his room and ranted over it. Of course, Draco knew that one day he would have to marry a pure-blood girl of his parents' choice. But Acquila? He had hated the mere thought of a girl who lived in a Muggle orphanage taking over his Black inheritance. He had hated that he would have to marry a girl who had been brought up by Muggles.

But then, in the Hogwarts Express, when he his eyes fell on Acquila, he knew his parents had chosen the right girl for him. Despite the Muggle clothes Acquila had been wearing, she looked like a true Pure-blood- with her black hair; an air of grace with which she carried herself which would never have been present in a girl of less than pure ancestry; and her eyes- her grey eyes which were so typical of a Black. Draco had always thought of his mother as the most beautiful lady he had known. But on seeing Acquila, he knew that her beauty would outclass Narcissa's as she grew up. And then, there was Acquila's magic- powerful magic. The things she could do without a wand…having such a powerful witch as a wife was something any boy would want. And then, there was her kindness. She had always been kind toDraco, tending to his wounds when he had punched that mirror, caring for him in her own sweet way; and she was friends with Draco despite knowing that his father had killed her mother's family.

If there was one thing that Draco treasured above all after his mother's love, it was his friendship with Acquila.

But then, Potter had come into the picture. Or rather, Potter had been into the picture long before Draco had entered it. Potter had got to be with Acquila since they were eight years of age; Potter had been the one to save her from the Dementors; and it was to save Potter's life that Acquila had injured herself while fighting the Troll.

And Weasley- Weasley whom Acquila wanted Draco to apologise to. Ronald Weasley was everything a Pure-blood wizard should never be. Dirt-poor, with six siblings, no etiquettes…But Acquila was friends with the Weasel as well.

And Granger…the filthy Mudblood! Why Acquila chose to ally herself with Half-bloods, Blood-traitors and Mudbloods, was something Draco just couldn't understand.

And Draco knew that if it wasn't for Potter, Acquila probably wouldn't have been such good friends with Weasley and Granger.

So, it all came down to Potter.

It was to get rid of Potter that Draco had arranged for Acquila and her bloody Gryffindors to get caught while transporting the Half-Giant's dragon. Draco had assumed that they would be caught and expelled from Hogwarts. Of course, Lucius Malfoy being on the board of Governers, he wouldn't have allowed Acquila to get expelled. So she would still remain at Hogwarts, without Potter and his gang. And then, she would _have _to be with Draco and his friends. Plus there was the added advantage of getting his revenge when know-it-all Granger would have been expelled. Draco hadn't forgotten, and would never forget the moment she had slapped him with her filthy mudblood hand.

But everything had back-fired. McGonagall had somehow caught Draco, and he had ended up getting detention- for which he had got a scathing letter from Lucius.

And what Acquila had done in the Forest was just unacceptable. Instead of running for her own life, she had gone to save Potter. And on top of that, she had used her magic against Draco! Draco Malfoy- her own cousin, her own blood and the boy she was going to marry.

"Aaaargh!" Draco let out another furious shriek, wanting to let out his anger at Potter.

He didn't blame Acquila for it in the slightest- it was Potter who had probably poisoned her mind against Draco.

But Draco was a Malfoy. He wouldn't take this lying down. Acquila could spend the remaining days of term with her filthy friends. But once the vacations began, she would have to come back to Malfoy Manor; and that is when she would realise that Draco was a much, much better friend to have than idiots like Potter who always managed to get Acquila into trouble- whether it was with a Troll, or a Dragon.

He would prove to Acquila that Potter was nothing more than a famous name.

...

Acquila tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep. Her thoughts kept swiveling over what had happened in the Forest.

Voldemort. The very thought of the Dark Wizard being this close to Harry sent her into tremors of fear and anger.

The Dark Wizard had already drunk unicorn blood, which would give him life, albeit a cursed one. And once Voldemort got the stone, his return was imminent- he would be immortal with the Elixir of life.

The possibility of a few spells performed by the teachers thwarting Voldemort's attempt to gain the Philosopher's stone, seemed was one of the most powerful wizards of the century. Wouldn't he be able to manoeuvre a few obstacles set by the Hogwarts teachers and get the stone?

And then nothing would stop him from making a return. And then...Harry...he would try to kill Harry.

Acquila wondered why Voldemort had been after Harry in the first place-all those years ago in 1981. What had made Voldemort specifically target the Potters? And why had Harry's scar ached when Voldemort had been near him? She knew that Harry had got the lightening-shaped scar courtesy the Avada-Kedavra spell which Voldemort had cast on him. But why did it hurt?

Acquila thought back to their first day at Hogwarts. His scar had pained that day as well. Did that mean that Voldemort had been around them since the beginning of the school year? But why hadn't anyone known? Why hadn't Dumbledore known of it?

And why...why did Acquila feel Harry's pain? Even the first time Harry's scar had hurt, she had known he was in pain. And in the forest as well, she had felt Harry's forehead throbbing with pain.

Why was that happening? It just did not make any sense.

"Ugh!" she let out a cry of frustration.

"Whatsamatter?" Hermione called out sleepily from the four-poster bed next to Acquila's.

"Nothing. Go to sleep, 'Mione."

As Hermione went off to sleep again, Acquila slowly got off her bed and tip-toed bare-footed to the door of the dormitory, careful to not make any noise. She descended the staircase and went up the one leading to Harry's dormitory.

She walked stealthily past Neville's bed, from where she could hear gentle snores; and then went up to Harry's four-poster bed. She pried apart his wall hangings, so as to create a small gap for her to climb onto his bed and then shut them again.

Harry seemed to be in a not-so-deep sleep. He had a frown on his sleeping face, as though he was lightly immersed in an annoying dream.

"Harry?" she said gently; knowing he would be startled as he was every time she woke him up in the middle of the night.

"Harry?" she said again, prodding his shoulder.

"Gotasleep, Ron," he mumbled.

"Haaarrryyy!" she let out an exasperated whisper which had Harry finally opening his eyes.

"Oh, Acquila," he said groggily.

"Won't you scream out this time?" she smirked.

"Nah," he said with a sleepy smirk of his own.

He sat up on his bed and patted the place next to him, telling her to sit beside him.

"What's the matter?" he asked her with a yawn.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"Of Voldemort?"

She nodded slightly, as Harry put on his glasses.

"I'm scared as well," he whispered as they sat side by side, Acquila's head on Harry's shoulder.

"I think we should tell someone…"

"Nobody will believe us, Acquila…"

"I can tell Dumbledore…I mean, I am not too fond of him, but he's the Headmaster…and the only wizard Voldemort was ever afraid of…"

"Let's tell Aunt Andy!" exclaimed Harry suddenly.

"Oh yes! Let's tell Aunt Andy! She will believe us, unlike Dumbledore who may not believe that Quirrell is after the stone…I mean, Quirrell is a teacher…"

"Oh, Acquila!" groaned Harry. "Snape is after the stone, not Quirrell!"

"But it _is _Quirrell! I am sure! He jinxed your broom and…"

Harry and Acquila bantered about Snape and Quirrell for the next half an hour, till Acquila let out a wide yawn.

"Go back to your dorm, Acquila. You're sleepy…"

"You know, I knew when your scar started hurting," she said, ignoring what he said about going off to sleep.

"Well, I was thinking about that as well…how do you always seem to know when I'm hurt or in trouble?"

"I don't know, Harry. I knew your scar hurt that day when we first came to Hogwarts. And then, when your broom was jinxed, I somehow knew something was wrong with you even before I looked at you trying to hold on to the Nimbus…and then today, I knew that your scar was hurting and…"

"It's alright, Acquila. We don't need to worry about that now; on the contrary isn't it a good thing that you'll always know when I'm in trouble and come to save me?" he said, grinning at her cheekily.

"You're right…but I just wish you would stop attracting trouble…Troublesome situations and the Boy-who-lived seem to go hand in hand," she smirked.

"Hey! Don't call me that!" he said indignantly, as Acquila prepared to leave for her dormitory.

"You are the Boy-who-lived, Harry. And if you could defeat Voldemort as a fifteen month-old baby, you'll certainly be able to defeat him as an eleven year-old kid," she whispered as placed a kiss on Harry's cheek before exiting the boys' dormitory, leaving a pensive Harry behind her.

Was Acquila right? Perhaps she was. If he had been the only one to survive Voldemort's killing curse (though he had absolutely no recollection of how he had done that), he _could_probably stand up to Voldemort again, if the Dark wizard did indeed try to steal the stone. As Harry dozed off to sleep, his dreams were full of a strange green light, a hook-nosed, turbaned Snape trying to steal the Philosopher's stone and Acquila kissing Harry on his cheek.

...

"Ah! Come in, Andromeda!" said Dumbledore as Andromeda Tonks sat down on the chair opposite Dumbledore with a graceful poise which was the mark of pure-blood breeding which only a daughter of the House of Black could possess.

"What do you wish to talk to me about, Andromeda? Your letter did not specify why you wanted to see me this urgently," Dumbledore smiled as he offered Andromeda a lemon drop which she politely refused.

"He-who-must-not-be-named has returned?" asked Andromeda, and Dumbledore could see her hoping that he would reply in the negative.

"Voldemort," said Dumbledore, as Andromeda cringed almost unnoticeably, "hadn't truly died the day he killed the Potters."

Andromeda stared at him in fearful astonishment.

"You mean he was never dead? He has been alive all these years?" she gasped.

"Indeed."

"Then why doesn't anyone know of this? The Ministry?The general wizarding public? Everyone thinks he is dead!" she retorted.

"I know they think he is dead. But you tell me, Andromeda, would anyone have wanted to believe that he was alive? He did 'die' that Halloween night; but he is still alive. What I mean to say," he continued as he saw the skeptical look on Andromeda's face. "Voldemort only lost his body that day. His soul is still around, waiting to make a comeback to the mortal world."

"Why…why…you should have told us all! All of Wizarding Britain! Everyone thinks we are free of him!"

"Nobody would have believed me, Andromeda. The Wizarding world was celebrating, joyous to be free of the darkness which Voldemort had brought upon us. Nobody would have wanted to believe that he was still alive, waiting to make a return. And well, Voldemort has been silent for the past ten years, hasn't he? There have been no signs of either him or his followers attempting to disrupt our peace…"

"But he has come back now, hasn't he? And that's why he drank the blood of a Unicorn last night in the Forbidden Forest; that's why he is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone which you have hidden here, at Hogwarts!" said Andromeda angrily.

Dumbledore's features turned into one portraying utter surprise, but it was only momentary.

"You are indeed a shrewd Slytherin, Andromeda. How do you know of the Stone?"

"If Harry and Acquila figured it out, why wouldn't I?" she said dryly.

"They know of the stone? They told you?"

"They did not specifically mention the Stone in the letter they sent me this morning. But they did ask Nymphadora about Nicholas Flamel. And they did write to me of spotting someone in the Forest last night who was drinking Unicorn Blood. And they mentioned that they think He-who-must-not-be-named is after a certain thing which if he gets his hands on, would make him immortal. It isn't difficult to put two and two together," she said, but then her voice gained a furious tone.

"What were you thinking Dumbledore? Keeping the stone in a school full of kids? I know Hogwarts is the safest place to keep something hidden, but how could you keep the stone here, knowing that someone is out to steal it? And sending eleven year-olds into the Forbidden Forest late at night to find out who is slaying Unicorns? Since when have detentions at Hogwarts started putting students' lives in danger? And you know of the danger Harry and Acquila have got into! Fighting a Troll! Then, the incident at the Quidditch match where someone jinxed Harry's broomstick! And you send them to discover who killed a Unicorn? Isn't it obvious that only a person with malicious intent would commit the gruesome crime of slaying an innocent Unicorn? Wasn't it obvious to you that such a person could pose immense danger to eleven year-old children?" she asked angrily.

"They were with Hagrid…"

"Hagrid is a good man; but you know as well as I do, that he doesn't even have a wand of his own! How did you expect him to defend five children against whatever it was that was slaying the Unicorns!'

Dumbledore sighed heavily.

"I admit that was a wrong move on my part. I assure you that Acquila will not be given detentions that will put her in risk of facing danger," he said sincerely.

"Acquila and Harry," Andromeda told him pointedly.

"You don't need to worry about Harry, Andromeda. I know how important he is to the future of our world. I will take care of him…"

"Take care of him? By making him spend ten years with evil Muggles who verbally abused him and made him do chores which no child should be forced to do!"

Dumbledore gaped at Andromeda.

"I wish to claim guardianship of Harry," said Andromeda with determination.

"I am afraid that isn't possible, Andromeda. Remus Lupin had told me the same thing ten years ago. But I will give you the same reasons that I had given him then- Lily sacrificed her life for Harry, thus giving him a protection which will remain in effect only if he considers the house of someone with a blood connection to Lily as his home. And Lily's only surviving blood relation is her sister Petunia. Till Harry considers her house as his home, Voldemort cannot hurt him there."

"So, for ensuring Harry's safety, you are going to force him to stay with those pathetic Muggles? Acquila was better cared for in an Orphanage than Harry is at his Aunt's house. And his Aunt is Lily's own sister! But for ten years, she has treated him worse than people treat their house-elves! He's been making breakfast for them since he was five years-old! Which child learns to cook at the age of five? Which child is made to mow lawns, paint benches, wash cars in sweltering heat? Nymphadora told me how skinny Harry was when he first came to Hogwarts. Which child is given inadequate food in his growing up years? I am not going to stand for this, Dumbledore."

As Dumbledore made to say something, Andromeda continued firmly.

"I know what you said about the blood protection, but I am ready to do whatever it takes to take Harry away from that hell-hole. I will put my house under the Fidelius Charm if need be, so that Harry can stay with us safely during the vacations. I know he has no close Blood relation to me. He is distantly related, but I don't care! You are going to tell me a way to make ensure that I can give Harry a better home…"

"Have you asked Harry his opinion on the matter?"

"Of course, I have. And he said yes in a heartbeat when I asked him whether he would wish to stay with us as a family. Which child does that? Which child says yes in a moment for staying with people who are relatively unknown to him? Can't you see how badly his Aunt's family treated him that he instantly said yes to stay with us? He may be the savior of the wizarding world, but he is just a child. He is just an eleven-year old who deserves to be treated with love and affection; who deserves to have a family that cares for him, that wants him!"

"But you won't get guardianship under Wizarding Laws, Andromeda. Harry's Godparents were Athena and Sirius, and since Sirius cannot be his guardian till he is declared innocent, the Dursleys are his closest relatives. They are legally his guardians…"

"I know that! Ted and I have gone through all possible books on Wizarding Laws since the beginning of the year, for Harry as well as Acquila's guardianship. But we found nothing that would help us."

"So how do you expect me to help you, Andromeda? I am not above the law."

Andromeda snorted delicately. "You are _Albus Dumbledore_; the man who had Acquila declared dead for ten years and had her sent to a Muggle Orphanage, and still remained unpunished for breaking the law. And you say you aren't above the law?"

Dumbledore said nothing in reply, his blue eyes twinkling strangely.

"If you can't tell me a way out of this, then I won't be averse to filing an appeal with the Wizengamot seeking Harry's wardship on account of mistreatment by his current guardians. And you know what an uproar it would cause; and you also know that people may blame you for knowingly sending Harry to people whom you knew of having a great hatred towards all things magic. You even sent his school letter with Hagrid! I know Hagrid has his heart in the right place, but was he really the right person to tell Harry of the Wizarding world? Why not Professor McGonagall? Or even Flitwick?"

Dumbledore sighed deeply again.

"I will look into it, Andromeda; though I am still firm on the need for Harry to stay with the Dursleys due to the blood protection," said Dumbledore.

As Andromeda opened her mouth to retort angrily, Dumbledore continued, "I have reason to hope that things will be sorted out soon. Remus Lupin recently told me that Peter Pettigrew is an illegal Animagus who takes the form of a rat. I have narrowed down on Wizarding families with whom he has probably taken shelter as a rat and I am certain that he will be captured sooner rather than later. And once he is captured, Sirius will be a free man, and being Acquila's father and Harry's Godfather, he is entitled to guardianship of both the children," he smiled benignly.

Andromeda's eyes were ablaze with a strange hope.

"Are you sure he will be caught soon, before the vacations begin?" she asked him.

"I am, Andromeda," replied the Headmaster.

"Thank you," she said. "But remember, Dumbledore, if Sirius isn't a free man by the time the school year ends, I will file an appeal for Harry's guardianship. He will never put foot into the house of those vile Muggles again. And I don't care if the blame for ten years of mistreatment falls on you, for having placed him with the Dursleys" she said, a hint of warning in her voice.

Dumbledore nodded in reply as Andromeda strode out of his office.

"It's a pity the girl eloped with a Mudblood," said a sly voice from the portrait of PhineasNigellus. "She would have made a fine Black with her shrewdness and cunning. She seems to have retained her Slytherin tendencies despite living with asinine Hufflepuffs."

As the former Heads of Hogwarts broke out in uproar over Phineas' slur against Hufflepuffs, Dumbledore went to his own room which stood beside his office.

Andromeda Black-Tonks was indeed a force to reckon with. Dumbledore had no doubt about her putting her threat into action. She wouldn't think twice before telling all of Wizarding Britain of the way the Dursleys treated Harry if that meant that she could get Harry away from them. Dumbledore was strangely intrigued by Andromeda. Most Blacks never cared for their children. Children were only a means to carry on the family line. But Andromeda seemed to genuinely care for Harry, who wasn't even her own son.

He sighed as he thought of a young Harry cooking breakfast for the Dursleys and washing their Muggle vehicle. He had never intended for Harry to suffer at Privet Drive. Minerva had warned him that the Dursleys were strange people who would never care for a child who wasn't their own.

Remus had even told him that Petunia hated magic. Dumbledore remembered the letter Petunia had sent him, wanting to attend Hogwarts. He also remembered the reply he had sent her. Remus had told him that Lily felt that things had spiraled downwards between the Evans sisters after that. But Dumbledore had paid no heed to it.

Arabella Figg had informed Albus of the Dursleys' treatment of Harry; but Dumbledore had still stuck to his belief that staying with Petunia's family would be the best way to keep Harry safe. And in his quest to ensure Harry's safety, had Dumbledore condemned Harry to a love-less, affection-less childhood?

Dumbledore _knew_ that Harry was important for the Wizarding world. But he would have cared for the boy even if he wasn't the Boy-who-lived; because Harry was the son of two of Dumbledore's favourite students. Dumbledore _did_ care for the boy; he _did_ love him. But perhaps, it was Dumbledore himself who was to blame for Harry's pathetic childhood. Lily and James had given their lives at the tender age of just twenty-one, to ensure that their child would survive; they had died to bring peace to the Wizarding world. Had Albus rewarded their sacrifice by ruining their son's childhood, by condemning him to ten years of ill-treatment?

As Dumbledore's blue eyes misted with unshed tears, he decided to put the matter on the back-burner for the present. Crying over spilt potion would do him no good. He had to ensure that Voldemort wouldn't be able to get to Harry. He wouldn't let the Potters' sacrifice go in vain. He would keep their son safe.

...

As the days passed by, the fear of Voldemort trying to steal the stone still plagued Acquila; but Harry wasn't as worried. Aunt Andy had met them after visiting the Headmaster and had told them that he had assured her of ensuring the stone's safety and that of Harry and Acquila as well. Harry had felt a great sense of relief; he trusted Dumbledore's word, especially after Ron had told them that the only person Voldemort was known to be scared of was Dumbledore. Acquila, however wasn't as relieved. She did not really trust the Headmaster. She had no doubt that Dumbledore wouldn't want Voldemort to get the stone; but somehow, she had a feeling that you couldn't always rely on Albus Dumbledore. She knew that he often manipulated things, albeit with a good intent, to the advantage of the wizarding world at large, than that of the people involved in the matter.

And thus, Acquila had taken to following Harry wherever he went, much to his chagrin. Acquila wanted to protect him if in case Voldemort tried to harm him, but frequently being tailed by Acquila had started to get on Harry's nerves.

Once, she had even followed him to the boys' washroom and then run out red in the face when she realised her mistake; leaving an even redder Neville and Draco in her wake.

The days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door. The two of them, with Neville, Ron and Hermione spent a majority of their time in the library, preparing for their exams. Harry meanwhile, hardly got any sleep, thanks to the long hours of studying and his recurring nightmares.  
Soon, the exams were upon them. It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell. They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk.

"It was a disaster!" Ron groaned after his practical was over. "My pineapple just sprouted one leg and as it tried to dance, it fell and rolled off the desk and lost its only limb."

The rest of them started laughing as Neville assured him that Crabbe and Goyle's pineapples had been even worse.  
Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox ... points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.  
Acquila knew that Harry's forehead kept hurting had told him to go to Madam Pomfrey but he was too stubborn and insisted it was nothing.

...

"Go to sleep, Harry,"said Ron, the night before the Astronomy paper.

"No, I still need to study,"replied Harry, staring at his book but not really reading.

"You've hardly slept since the detention, mate. You are scared to sleep because of your nightmares, right?"

Harry closed his book and said, "Howcome it's only me who gets these nightmares?"

"I guess, it's because you saw it happening."

"Yes," Harry said sadly and slipped into his thoughts.

Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Harry had seen in the forest or because they didn't have scars burning on their foreheads, but Ron and Hermione didn't seem as worried about the Stone as Harry. Acquila was the only one who shared his concern. The idea of Voldemort certainly scared Ron and Hermione, but they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Snape or as per Acquila, Quirrell might be up to. Harry finally slipped into an uneasy slumber as one strange dream followed another.

...

Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Harry couldn't help cheering with the rest.

"That was far easier than I thought it would be," said Hermione as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds. "I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."  
Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterward, but Ron said this made him feel ill.

"Mine was okay. I'm not that good at theory,"Acquila said.

"Stop discussing the papers. Please,"groaned Harry as they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.

"No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."  
Harry was rubbing his forehead.

"I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting ... it's happened before, but never as often as this."

"I told you a million times. Go to Madam Pomfrey," said Acquila.

"I'm not ill," said Harry. "I think it's a warning... it means danger's coming..."

Ron couldn't get worked up, it was too hot.

"Harry, relax, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."

Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."  
Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though.

Acquila and Hermione then left saying they were going to the washroom.

"Why do girls always go to the washroom together?" wondered Ron as the girls departed.

But Harry wasn't listening. He watched an owl flutter toward the school, deep in thought. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy... never... but ...  
Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Where're you going?" said Ron sleepily.

"I've just thought of something," said Harry. He had turned white.

"We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."

"Why?"

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" said Ron, but Harry, quickened his pace, didn't answer.

"At least wait for the girls to come back!"exclaimed Ron, as he followed Harry.

"There's no time! We'll tell Fred and George to tell them to come to Hagrid's," Harry replied, pointing to the twins who were now walking towards them.

After telling the twins they rushed towards Hagrid's hut. But just as Harry was about to knock on the enormous door, he saw a black creature jump out of Hagrid's window with something in its mouth. It was Nyx!

"Merlin's beard, it's Scabbers,"yelled Ron."Put him down,you bloody cat!"

"How do you know it Scabbers? It must be some other rat! Scabbers is dead!"said Harry, running after Ron who was running after Nyx, bellowing curses at the feline, most of which Harry had never heard in his life.

Nyx had gone to Hagrid's hut, knowing that it was the only place in the Castle grounds which she hadn't searched. She had discreetly jumped into the hut through the window and caught the rat munching a piece of Hagrid's rock-cakes on the table. She had pounced onto the rat and picked it up with her teeth, as she prepared to take him to Sirius.

But just as she jumped of the window with Scabbers, Ron and Harry had spotted her and started following her. She couldn't lead them to the Forbidden Forest, knowing the cloaked figure could pose a danger to them if it was still in the Forest. So she had run towards the Castle instead, knowing of many places where she could hide from Ron and Harry within the ancient stone building.

Ron and Harry followed Nyx to the castle. The cat entered the Great Hall and slipped under one of the tables. Ron was trying hard to keep track of her while Harry looked under the benches, trying to find the feline, when he collided with someone, his glasses falling off his face.

"I'm so sorry!"he exclaimed and fixed his glasses and that is when he realised that the person he had collided with was none other than Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had been walking through the Great Hall, when a cat had entered, followed by Ron and had then spotted a rat in the cat's mouth and that's when Harry had bumped into him.

After waving off Harry's apologies, Dumbledore asked him, "Why is Ron running after the cat?"

"Nyx has Ron's rat, Scabbers in her mouth, Sir!"

Immediately Dumbledore turned to Nyx who was making her way to the Hufflepuff table with Ron right behind her, still screaming and unaware of Dumbledore's presence. With a wave of the Elder wand, Dumbledore stupefied Nyx.

Ron looked up, confused and met Dumbledore's eyes and immediately turned red. Dumbledore and Ron both moved forward to pull Scabbers out of Nyx's mouth. But Scabbers, who had lost a lot of weight, wriggled out of the stunned cat's mouth and sprinted towards the exit to the Hall.

"Stupefy!" said Dumbledore, oblivious to the crowd which had started gathering around them, as the rat lay unconscious.

With another wave of his wand, the rat came zooming into the Headmaster's outstretched hand.

"How long has the rat been your pet, Mister Weasley?" Dumbledore asked.

"Since I got accepted to Hogwarts. It was Percy's pet before that, but when he became a prefect this year I got Scabbers and mom bought him a new owl," replied Ron, staring at the great wizard in awe.

"Since when has the rat been with Percy?"

"Since I was a little older than one."

Pettigrew! This rat had to be Pettigrew! A normal rat wouldn't live this long. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily as he observed the rat.

"Can…can I have my rat, Sir?" asked Ron.

"I'll take your pet, Mister seems ill. I'll see to it that your rat is taken care of," said Dumbledore.

"Oh! Okay, Professor. Thank you!"said an awed Ron, amazed that Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard alive was not only talking to him but also wanting to take care of his pet.

Dumbledore then turned to Nyx and reversed the spell. Nyx immediately ran up to Dumbledore and tried to jump up to catch Scabbers from his hand.

Dumbledore bent down and looked straight into the cat's green eyes, as the cat attempted to grab the rat.

"Nyx," said Dumbledore as Nyx stopped jumping and looked at Dumbledore.

"I know who the rat is. And I assure you that justice will be done," he whispered and after a pat on the feline's furry head, the Headmaster walked away.  
'That is one intelligent cat,' he thought as he ascended the staircase, knowing that Nyx had recognised the rat for who it really was.

...

A few moments after Dumbledore left, Harry and Ron saw Acquila and Hermione sprinting towards them.

"What happened? Why was Dumbledore carrying a rat? He just passed by us! And the rat looked like Scabbers!"said Acquila.

"Your cat kidnapped my rat, tortured it and was now planning to eat it," yelled Ron, his anger rising.

"You blamed my Nyx for killing your rat! And now you discover that rat was alive all this while, you're blaming her for trying to eat Scabbers!" retorted Acquila, just as angrily.

"We saw Nyx holding Scabbers in her mouth. Dumbledore has said he will take care of him," Harry said, not wanting Ron and Acquila to start bickering.

"Where's Nyx?"Acquila asked looking around.

"She ran out of the door,"said Harry, and quickly changed the topic. "Forget that, we need to talk to Hagrid."

"Why? What's the matter?"asked Hermione, as they started walking towards Hagrid's hut.

"You'll see," Harry replied.

...

Albus Dumbledore walked briskly towards his office, the stunned rat held securely in his hands. Could this be Pettigrew? Had the traitor been in Albus' own school all this time? Had Pettigrew been living with the Weasleys for the past ten years?

He placed the unconscious rat on his table and observed it minutely. It seemed like the rat had once been quite well-fed, but had been starving for sustenance in recent times. And then there was the missing finger on the front paw of the rat-corresponding to the only part of Pettigrew which had been found at the site of his faked death. A quick wave of his wand later, Albus was certain that the rat was indeed an Animagus.

'Expecto Patronum' Dumbledore said a minute later and the glimmering Phoenix which emerged from the tip of his wand disappeared with the three messages Albus had told it to convey.

...

Hagrid opened the door; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and it appeared that he was shelling peas into a large bowl.  
"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"

"Yes, please," said Ron, but Harry cut him off.

"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."

He saw the four of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head ... that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"  
Suddenly, Acquila and Hermione understood what Harry was trying to ask.

"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember."Yeah... he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after... so I told him... an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... an'then... I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks... Let's see... yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."

"And did he…did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, try ing to keep his voice calm.

"Well – yeah! How many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off tersleep ..."

Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey ... where're yehgoin'?"

Acquila, Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak ... it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk."

"Or Quirrell!" added Acquila.

"I just hope Dumbledore believes us," Harry went on, "Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him."

...

Amelia Bones sat in her office, going through a stack of parchment on the recent bill for an act which would make it even more difficult for werewolves to get employment in the wizarding world. She muttered a string of curses under her breath. As the Chief of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia was supposed to remain impartial; but upon reading the clauses in the appeal which had been put forth by that toad of a woman named Umbridge, Amelia's hands were itching to toss the thick stack of parchment into the fireplace, rather than tabling it before the Wizengamot. A sudden movement which she noticed from the corner of her eye had her reaching for her wand- a reflex action which had remained ingrained in her, despite the decade which had passed since Voldemort's reign of terror had been ended by a green-eyed toddler.

On spotting Dumbledore's Patronus, Amelia kept her wand back on the table and stared open-mouthed at the Phoenix on hearing the words which it uttered in Dumbledore's voice.

'Call a hearing of the entire Wizengamot as soon as possible, preferably within the next couple of hours. And keep your fireplace open for me and two others to come through,' said the Phoenix, and disappeared.

Amelia swore aloud. A hearing of the entire Wizengamot! At the earliest? Amelia knew that Dumbledore did have his eccentric moments; but calling for a hearing at this short a notice was a tad too much even for sometimes-eccentric old wizard. Generally, the notice for a Wizengamot hearing had to be given at least a week in advance to the parties to the case. The laws under which the wizards of the ancient times had formed the Wizengamot, had bestowed upon the Chief Warlock, the powers to call an impromptu hearing in those rarest of rare cases which merited an urgent dispensing of justice.

What had happened that Albus needed to call for an urgent hearing? Amelia knew that it was probably related to Sirius Black. She called in her assistant and ordered her to owl all the members of the Wizengamot to come to Courtroom number five for an urgent hearing.

Half an hour later, Albus Dumbledore entered through the fire-place in a surge of green flames. He magically banished the soot on his plum-coloured Warlock robes and smiled widely at Amelia. He had already informed a joyous McGonagall of the capture of Pettigrew, and rechecked the enchantments protecting the Stone.

"Hello, Madam Bones!" exclaimed Dumbledore, bestowing a wide smile on Amelia. "What time have you scheduled the Hearing?"

"I am afraid, it cannot be held within the next couple of hours. I have sent Owls to all the Wizengamot members, and they have agreed to arrive by ten pm; most of them are attending the International Law Meet in Geneva, and cannot leave midway."

"Ah! Yes! I was supposed to have been present at the meet too, but as you can see, other pressing needs have demanded my attention."

"May I know the case to be heard at the Hearing, Albus? I assume you have called for the Hearing using your powers under the Wizengamot Laws," she said sternly.

"Oh yes, my dear Amelia. The case to be heard is against one Mister Peter Pettigrew for the killing of thirteen Muggles, and the slaying of Athena McKinnon Black with the killing curse in the early hours of the 1st of November, 1981. You may add being an illegal Animagus and betraying the Potters' location which was held under a Fidelius charm to Voldemort; though the secret-keeper matter is one which I would prefer was out of the public domain," he said, his blue eyes twinkling.

Amelia Bones' eyes grew wider with each word Dumbledore uttered.

"Merlin and Morgana! Peter Pettigrew? He is dead! Are you sure, Albus? Are you drunk on vats of Firewhisky?" she exclaimed.

"Ah! I do not really like Firewhisky, I am rather partial to elf-made wine brewed by the Hogwarts elves," he chuckled.

"Albus!" Amelia said in a warning tone.

"This," said Dumbledore, placing a rat which he took out of the pocket of his robes on Amelia's table, "Is Peter Pettigrew."

"And where did you find him?" she asked, as with a wave of her wand, she made certain that the rat did indeed seem to be an Animagus.

"It was a cat who found him, an intelligent part-kneazle rather, belonging to Acquila Black. He has been living with the Weasleys for the past ten years in the form of their pet rat, though I am certain they never even had an inkling that their pet was a murderer and a Death-Eater."

"May I transform him back into his human form, Albus?"

"I would prefer you not doing so, Amelia. The shock of seeing himself in front of the entire Wizengamot may prompt Peter to own up to his crimes sooner, rather than having time to prepare for his defence."

Amelia nodded.

"So an innocent person languished in Azkaban for ten years for a crime he never committed," she muttered with a mixture of anger and sorrow.

"Yes, Amelia. Sirius Black is innocent. He neither killed the Muggles, nor killed Pettigrew. Peter concocted the entire event. If I am not wrong, he blew the street apart himself, cut off his finger and transformed into a rat and escaped through the Muggle sewers which I remember seeing near the scene of crime. And then, he went to Sirius' house and used the killing curse on Athena; after which he took shelter with the Weasleys since they are a wizarding family and he would be-up-to date with news of Voldemort and his fellow Death-Eaters."

"When are you ever wrong, Albus?" sighed Amelia as she looked minutely at the unconscious rat's paw which had a toe missing.

"Plenty of times," said Dumbledore softly as he thought of not having asked for a trial for Sirius and of Harry's wretched childhood with the Dursleys.

"Do you have any proof of him having killed Athena?"

"No, I don't. But Peter can admit to it. And if he doesn't, I am sure we can administer Veritaserum to him."

"But how did you know that he killed Athena?"

Dumbledore told Amelia of Acquila's memories during the Dementor attack, and confirmation that the man who had slain her mother was indeed Pettigrew.

"But her testimony might not hold water considering…"

"Acquila will not be coming for the Hearing, Amelia. I do not want to inflict upon her the pain of having to recount Athena's death. And since she is a not yet of age, I will have to inform her legal guardian if Acquila is to testify, and I do not intend for the Malfoys to know of Pettigrew having been caught. Lucius, with his access to immense wealth and contacts within the members of the Wizengamot, may give him time to manipulate the proceedings of the Hearing to impede Sirius' freedom. I think you are well aware of the extreme mutual detestation shared by Lucius and Sirius."

Amelia Bones nodded, only to whip out her wand at the fireplace the next moment, and lower it when she saw Remus Lupin come through.

...

Meanwhile, the four Gryffindors sprinted in the direction of Dumbledore's office. Suddenly a familiar voice rang through the corridor.  
"What are you three doing inside?" It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to

want to do. "Why?"

Harry swallowed and looked at Acquila as if asking, 'now what?'

"Professor, I want to talk to him about my father," said Acquila, knowing McGonagall wouldn't refuse to let them go to Dumbledore if she mentioned Sirius.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "He had an urgent business to attend at Ministry of Magic and so went off for London at once."

"He's gone?" said Acquila frantically. "Now?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard; he has many demands on his time ...

"But this is important."

"Something you have to say is more important than a Wizengamot Hearing, Ms. Black?"

"Look," said Harry, throwing caution to the winds, "Professor…Acquila lied…We want to talk to Professor Dumbledore…it's about the Philosopher's stone…"

Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up.

"How do you know…?" she spluttered.

"Professor, I think…I know…that Sn- that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said.

She eyed them with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Dumbledore won't be back soon…he has gone for a matter concerning…he has gone to attend to an extremely urgent matter," she said, wondering whether to tell Acquila about why Dumbledore had gone to the Ministry. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected," she continued.

"But Professor…"

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

But they didn't.

"It's tonight," said Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now that Dumbledore is out of the way."

"I am telling you. You are suspecting the wrong person. We have to keep an eye on Quirrell! He's trying to steal the stone!"Acquila said exasperatedly.

"But …"

Hermione gasped. Acquila, Harry and Ron wheeled round. Snape was standing there.

"Good afternoon," he said smoothly. They stared at him.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.

"We were…" Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say.

"You want to be more careful," said Snape. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"

Harry flushed. They turned to go outside, but Snape called them back.

"Be warned, Black, Potter -any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."  
He strode off in the direction of the staff-room.

Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.  
"Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently. "One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape…ok fine, and Quirrell," he said on looking at Acquila's expression. "Wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione you observe Snape and Acquila you watch Quirrell."

"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry told Ron.

"Come on."

Hermione and Acquila walked towards the staff-room. Acquila built up some courage to see if Quirrell was in the staff-room. She opened the door a bit and peeked in but didn't see Quirrell anywhere. Just as she was about to turn,Snape came out.

"What are you doing here Ms Black?" he asked, his eyes looking into her grey ones with a hatred she was sure she didn't merit.

"Umm… I wanted to meet Professor Quirrell."

"Why?"Snape asked, his curiosity and suspicion seemed to have increased.

"I wanted to talk him about the exam,"said Acquila, hoping he won't realise that she was lying.

"He's not in the staff-room. I'll send for him. Wait right here. And why is Granger hiding there?" he asked maliciously, pointing at Hermione who was trying to hide behind a pillar, hoping to follow Snape after he left.

"Uh…uh…" Acquila faltered.

"Quite an articulate vocabulary you have there, Black. Your father would have been ashamed," he sneered at her and left, ignoring Acquila's outraged expression.

After a while,Snape came back without Quirrell. Apparently, he couldn't find him anywhere and Snape himself seemed somewhat disturbed by that. They quickly left and went back to the common room.  
They found Harry and Ron sitting near the fire place looking upset. The boys had encountered Professor McGonagall on the third floor corridor and had returned. The girls told them about what happened at the staffroom.

"Isn't it strange that Quirrell was found nowhere? No one knows where he is. Even Snape looked disturbed about it," saidAcquila, hoping the other three would agree with her now.

"Maybe Quirrell has gone to warn someone about Snape. Like us. And that is why Snape must be worried," put in Ron.  
Harry looked deep in thought, he finally looked up and said, "I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."

"You're right. We'll have to get it before the thief. Whoever he is,"Acquila said, equally determined.

"You're mad! Both of you!" said Ron.

"You can't!" said Hermione. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT!" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape or Quirrell gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark  
Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? Do you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?" he glared at them.

"Calm down Harry!"said Acquila, grasping Harry's hand as she felt as if waves of magic were emerging from Harry.

"You're right Harry," said Hermione in a small voice.

"I'll use the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."

"But will it cover all four of us?" said Ron.

"All …all four of us?"

"Yes, Harry! We'll all go. You never know what you'll have to face," said Acquila.

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?" Ron exclaimed.

"Of course not," said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and took through my books, there might be something useful..."

"But if we get caught, you three will be expelled, too."

"Like you said. It doesn't matter if we can't stop Voldermort from coming back,"Acquila said, putting an arm on Harry's shoulder to show support. "We are in it together."

"You will have to inform your Aunt Andromeda about it. She will worry. Maybe she'll even find a way to help," Hermione said suddenly.

"Oh yes!" exclaimed Acquila. "She had told us to write to her if we were ever in trouble. She'll be here in a jiffy!

"I hope she believes us. No one else does," Harry said gloomily. "Do we tell Dora?" he exclaimed."She'll definitely believe us."

"No. We shouldn't! She has her Charms NEWT tomorrow and she won't be able to concentrate if we tell her this. She needs good grades to become an Auror," replied Acquila.

"You're right. We'll just write to Aunt Andy."

...

"Hello, Albus, Madam Bones…" said Remus before his eyes widened on sighting the unconscious rat lying on the table; and a moment later, he felt a wave of anger surge within him- anger which had surged only once before, when he had thought Sirius guilty of betraying the Potters and killing Wormtail. He felt the dormant wolf straining within his mind, wanting to pounce on the rat and hand him an immensely painful death.

"You rascal!" he screamed, pointing his wand at the rat- the one person who had destroyed the lives of the people who had meant everything to Remus. His amber eyes glowed with an over-powering urge to revenge the death of his friends by slaying the traitor who lay before him. Before he could utter a curse to bring a painful end to Wormtail's life, he found his wand flying out of his hand and being deftly caught in Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

"Give me my wand!" he growled at Dumbledore.

"Calm down, Remus," said Dumbledore. "I would hate seeing you in Azkaban for having killed a man in anger. The Wizengamot will hand him a life sentence in Azkaban befitting the crimes he has committed."

But Remus seemed not to have heard Dumbledore, he moved towards the rat only to be impeded by the shield charm cast by Dumbledore and Amelia.

"Mister Lupin!" exclaimed Amelia as Dumbledore put an arm on Remus' shoulder, trying to calm him down. With an almighty effort, Remus reigned in the wolf raging within him and sat down on the nearest chair.

"Will you at least let me turn him back into his human form, Albus? I wish to ask him why he betrayed us all…and James, Lily…and killed Athena…"

"I am afraid I can't do that, my boy," said Dumbledore, as he explained his plan to Remus.

"But I want to talk to him, Albus. He was a Marauder! We had sworn to be brothers until the end! How could he do this to all of us? How could he kill Athena and betray James and Lily and condemn Sirius to ten years in Azkaban for a crime which Wormtail himself committed! I want to know what made him cheat us all! I want answers, Albus!"

"I am sure a few drops of Veritaserum would have Peter blurting out answers to all the questions which are plaguing your mind, Remus; and that too, before the entire Wizengamot. So all you need is a bit of patience," he replied calmly as Remus reluctantly nodded.

"Will Mister Lupin be attending the Hearing as well? I am afraid that isn't allowed under…"

"Remus will be present at the Hearing; as a witness…" replied Dumbledore.

"Witness for what…" interjected Madam Bones before Dumbledore cut her off, "I am sure that there may not arise a need for Remus to testify, but I want him to be present at the Hearing, Amelia…"

A surge of green flames in the fireplace had them looking at the witch who daintily walked out of the fireplace and into Amelia's office.

"Is that Pettigrew?" exclaimed Andromeda, staring at the stunned rat, her hands on her mouth in shock.

"Indeed, Andromeda; this is Peter," replied Dumbledore.

"When is the Hearing? I want to see this evil creature being sentenced to Azkaban for falsely implicating Sirius, and killing Athena!"

"The hearing will begin at ten pm, Andromeda," replied Dumbledore.

"Ten pm?" gasped Lupin.

"Oh yes. I called for an immediate Hearing, putting some of the powers which my position as Chief Warlock entails," smiled Dumbledore.

"I assume Mrs. Tonks will be present at the Hearing as well?" said Amelia wryly.

"Yes, I will," put in Andromeda before Dumbledore could reply. "The laws of the Wizengamot provide for a family member of the party to the case to be present at the Hearing in case the said party isn't able to be present. And I know that the case to be heard will be against Peter, but it does involve Sirius's freedom; so, I am entitled to be present for it."

"Well said, Andromeda," smiled Dumbledore.

"It astounds me as to why you chose a career in healing than one in law, Mrs. Tonks," responded Amelia.

...

After dinner the four Gryffindors sat nervously apart in the common room. They were still waiting for Hedwig to return with Andromeda's reply. They had no way of knowing that since Andromeda was in the Ministry of Magic, Hedwig couldn't pass through the wards which prevented entrance of owls into the floor which contained the courtrooms.

"Why isn't she replying?" Harry asked for the fifth time since they'd sent the letter. "It's been hours."

"Maybe she's busy at the hospital. Maybe Hedwig couldn't reach her,"said Acquila.

"We'll wait for her reply till everyone leaves the common room and if she still hasn't replied by then, then we'll leave for the trapdoor,"said Harry. "It has to be done today."

Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to them any more, after they had lost them all those points. This was the first night they hadn't been upset by it. Hermione was skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the enchantments they were about to try to break and Acquila was helping her. Harry and Ron didn't talk much. Both of them were thinking about what they were about to do.  
Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning.

Harry ran upstairs to their dark dormitory. He pulled out the cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy and ran back down to the common room.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us -if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own..."

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor, the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back.

Neville stared at their guilty faces.

"You're going out again," he said.

"No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"

Acquila looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time.

"You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important."

But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.

I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll…I'll fight you!"

"Neville, "Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot"

"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville. I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but not to us," said Ron in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing."

He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.

"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists. "I'm ready!"

Harry turned to Acquila and Hermione.

"Do something," he said desperately.

Acquila stepped forward.

"Neville, I'm sorry about this," she said, and wandlessly froze Neville as she had done during the Quidditchmatch.

Hermione picked up her wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa."

"What are you doing?"Ron asked them, as Acquila too did the same with her wand to help Hermione carry Neville.

"We can't leave Neville in the common room like this. Someone is bound to notice him," Hermione said, floating Neville upto the boys' dormitory. After putting Neville in his bed, they went back to the common room, pulled on the invisibility cloak and left through the portrait hole.

In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them. At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. Norris skulking near the top.

"Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Ron whispered in Harry's ear, but Harry shook his head and Acquila smacked Ron's head, as he hissed 'Ouch!'

As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs. Norris turned her lamp-like eyes on them, but did nothing.

They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Peeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.

"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?"He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.  
"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."

Harry had a sudden idea.  
"Peeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."

Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir," he said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake ... I didn't see you ... of course I didn't, you're invisible ... forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir."

"I have business here, Peeves," croaked Harry. "Stay away from this place tonight."

"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you."  
And he scooted off

"Brilliant, Harry!" whispered Ron as the girls giggled.

A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor ... and the door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape or Quirrell already got past Fluffy."

Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all four of them what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other three.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," said Ron.

"How many times do we have to tell you that we are in this together?"Acquila said exasperatedly.

"Yes! We're coming," said Hermione.

Harry pushed the door open. As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.

"Look! Near its feet!"Acquila said pointing at the instrument.

"What is that?" Hermione whispered.

"Looks like a harp," said Ron. "Whoever went in must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry. "Well, here goes..."

He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased ... it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads. "I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Acquila, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Ron?"

"All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.

"Nothing ... just black ... there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."  
Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Acquila to get his attention and pointed at himself.

"I'm going first," said Acquila and before either of the three could stop her, she went through the trap-door.

Harry tried to hand the flute over to Hermione to stop from going first. But she had already climbed over the trapdoor and lowered herself through the hole until she was hanging on by her fingertips. Then she looked up at Hermione and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore and call McGonagall right away?"

"Right," said Hermione who was looking really scared.

"See you in a minute, I hope..."

And Acquila let go. Cold, damp air rushed past her as she fell down, down, down and ... FLUMP.

...

"Criminal Hearing of the sixth of June, Nineteen Ninety Two, against Peter Patrick Pettigrew for the killing of thirteen Muggles and the murder of Athena McKinnon Black," said Dumbledore with a satisfied gleam in his eyes.

Ignoring the shocked gasps, cries that broke out amongst the members of the Wizengamot, Dumbledore continued, "Interrogators: Chief Warlock, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore; Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Susan Bones; Witness for the Prosecution, Remus John Lupin; Court Scribe, Priam Theodore Cornwall."

"What is the meaning of this, Dumbledore?" roared a furious Cornelius Fudge. "Peter Pettigrew is dead! He's been dead for ten years! And how can you blame him for Black's crimes!"

Fudge's angry reaction was followed by similar exclamations of shock and outrage.

"Silence!" boomed Amelia Bones' voice and the courtroom fell silent.

"Hem, hem," said a high-pitched girlish voice.

"Yes, Miss Umbridge," said Dumbledore.

"Peter Pettigrew is a celebrated hero of the wizarding war. He was also posthumously awarded with the Order of Merlin," she said in a falsely sweet voice. "What gives you the right to tarnish the memory of such a hero by falsely accusing him..."

"Miss Umbridge!" Amelia's stern voice interrupted her. "As I had reminded you in a previous Hearing as well, you are here only on account of being the Under Secretary to the Minister. You are neither an interrogator, nor a member of the Wizengamot. So l advise you to refrain from questioning the Chief Warlock's right to call for this Hearing, or I will be forced to evict you from the Courtroom."

"Madam Bones..." started Fudge, but Amelia cut him off.

"Minister, this is a Wizengamot Hearing, not a meeting of your Government members. Kindly do not give me a reason to have you escorted out of the Courtroom."

Cornelius Fudge turned red in the face and bit back an angry retort.

"So may I carry on with the hearing?" asked a beaming Dumbledore and the members nodded.

"May the accused be produced!"

Dumbledore waved his wand and a cage within which lay an unconscious rat, appeared onto the chair where the accused were supposed to sit.

"A rat!"

"This is preposterous!"

"Ridiculous!"

The Wizengamot broke out into uproar again.

But a moment later, the cage disappeared and a blue-white jet of light from Dumbledore's wand hit the rat and the rat turned into an extremely short man with grubby skin, small, watery eyes, and a pointed nose, and mousey hair with a large bald patch. The man seemed to have been fat once upon a time, but it looked as though he lost plenty of weight in a short time.

"Merlin!"

"Bloody Hell!"

"What on earth!"

Shocked exclamations filled the courtroom, as the assembled members gaped at the unconscious man in shock. With a wave of her wand, Amelia made the unconscious man sit up in the chair and made the shackles clasp his wrists so that he wouldn't escape.

"This," boomed Dumbledore's voice "is Peter Pettigrew, thought to have been dead in Nineteen Eighty One."

"This can't be!"

"He is an imposter!"

"SILENCE!" said Amelia Bones.

"Ennervate," said Dumbledore pointing his wand at the man.

Peter Pettigrew gradually opened his eyes; his head was throbbing with pain. But as he tried to lift his hands to touch his head, he realised that his hands were in shackles. Fear spread through his entire being as he realised that he wasn't in his Animagus form, but his human one. As he fearfully opened his eyes wider and looked up from his hands to ascertain where he was; his eyes fell upon Madam Bones, Albus Dumbledore and the members of the Wizengamot.

"Nooooooooooooo!" he let out a loud shriek. "Let me go…let me go… I have done nothing…" he started whimpering, trying to set his hands free of the chains, but failing.

"The more you try to free your hands from the shackles, the more they will tighten around your hands, Mister Pettigrew. So I would advise you to stop trying to wriggle out of those chains and tell us why you were hiding as a rat, when you have been considered dead for the last ten years," said Amelia Bones.

"I…I have done nothing…let me go…let me go…" Pettigrew cried repeatedly until he saw Remus.

"Remus! My friend! Let me out of here! I am your friend! I am Peter! I am Wormy! You know I would do nothing bad! Help me, Mooney…"

"You are no friend of mine, you bastard!" roared Remus, standing up and advancing towards Pettigrew till Andromeda who was sitting next to him grabbed his hand and made him sit down.

"Such language will not be tolerated in the Courtroom, Mister Lupin!" exclaimed Amelia as Dumbledore looked at Pettigrew with a gleam in his eyes.

"Thank you for that statement, Peter," said Dumbledore. "I see that there is no need for Mister Lupin to testify that this man is indeed Peter Pettigrew, as the man in question himself has admitted to his identity," he continued jovially.

...

With a funny, muffled sort of thump, Acquila landed on something soft. She sat up and felt around, her eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though she was sitting on some sort of plant.

"It's okay!" She called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Ron followed right away. He landed, sprawled next to her.

"What's this stuff?" were his first words.

"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, Hermione!"

She landed next to Ron. As Harry stopped playing there was a loud bark from the dog, but Harry had already jumped. He landed on Acquila's other side.

"You should have let me go first," he told Acquila. "What if something had happened to you?"

"You don't need to risk your life every time,"Acquila replied.

"We must be miles under the school," Hermione exclaimed.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.

"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione. "Look at you !"

She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. As for Acquila, Harry and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing. Acquila tried to free Harry and herself from the creepers but couldn't. Hermione had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the two boys and Acquila fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.

"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them. "I know what this is ... it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck. "Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.

"It likes the dark so we need to light a fire."Acquila said.

"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his neck.

"Yes ... of course ... but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Oh, right!" said Hermione, but by the time she took out her wand Acquila had conjured a fire wandlessly.  
In a matter of seconds, Acquila and the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth.  
Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.

"Lucky you girls pay attention in Herbology," said Harry as he joined them by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.

"Yeah," said Ron, "'there's no wood,' honestly."

This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.

All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon ... Norbert had been bad enough...

"Can you hear something?"Acquila whispered.

Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.

"Do you think it's a ghost?" Ron asked

"I don't know... sounds like wings to me." Harry said.

"There's light ahead ... I can see something moving." Hermione pointed out.

...

The fear flickering on Pettigrew's rat-like face intensified as his eyes kept darting towards the doors of the courtroom, looking for ways to exit.

"You cannot escape, Mister Pettigrew. The Anti-Animagus charms will not let you transform." Dumbledore smiled as Pettigrew's whimpering increased.

"Since when have you been an illegal Animagus, Mister Pettigrew?"

"Uh…since I was fif…fifteen…" spluttered Pettigrew.

"You will be sentenced to five years in Azkaban for being an unregistered Animagus since Nineteen Seventy Five. Now tell us why you have been hiding since the past ten years," demanded Amelia, her voice soaring above the muttering and gasps that had erupted through the present wizards and witches again. Fudge and Umbridge seemed to have been rendered speechless.

"I was…was scared…he would have killed me…"

"Answer my question, Mister Pettigrew! Where have you been hiding?"

"At…at the house of the Weasleys…as…as their pet rat…"

Waves of disbelief and shock washed over the present people.

"The Weasleys!" gasped Cornelius Fudge.

"Did they know of your identity?"

"No…no…"

"Why were you in hiding? Why did you not come out in the open?

"I was scared…he would have killed me!"

"Who would have killed you?"

"Si…Sirius Black!"

As Remus seemed to be about to retort to Pettgirew, Dumbledore gave him a warning look, telling him to remain silent.

"Why would Sirius Black have killed you, Mister Pettigrew?" asked Dumbledore.

"He betrayed the Potters…he…he was a death-eater…"

"Assuming what you say is right, what made you think that Sirius Black would escape a high-security cell in Azkaban to harm you? Breaking out of Azkaban is something which no one had succeeded in."

"He has powers! Dark…dark powers…which the Dark Lord taught him…"

"The Dark Lord?"

"Ye…yes."

"Why is it that you refer to Voldemort as the 'dark lord'?" asked Dumbledore, ignoring the flinching of the members around him when he uttered Voldemort's name.

"I…uh…"

"The people who call Voldemort 'the dark lord' are generally his followers," said Dumbledore shrewdly.

"Me? Me…follow the dark…I mean he…he-who-must-not-be-named…no...no," spluttered Pettigrew, his eyes darting towards the doors of the Courtroom again.

"This is preposterous, Dumbledore! How could Pettigrew have followed you-know-who? And he is right about Black, isn't he? Sirius Black did escape from Azkaban; he couldn't have done so without dark magic unknown to us!" said a white-haired Wizengamot member.

"Yes, yes!" cried Fudge, as similar voices of agreement resonated through the room.

"If I am not wrong, the entire island on which Azkaban stands was checked thoroughly by the Aurors for traces of dark magic after Sirius escaped; and no such traces were found. Am I right, Antiquis?" asked Dumbledore, looking at Antiquis Blishwick, Head of the Auror Department.

"Aye, Dumbledore. You are right. A team consisting of our best Aurors checked every inch of the island and the prison. But they found no signs of any kind of dark magic used by Black," replied Blishwick.

"So, Mister Pettigrew, are you willing to admit that you were a Death-Eater?" asked Amelia Bones.

"Nooo! No…I wasn't! Professor Dumbledore…sir…you know…I was part of the Order…how could I have been a Death-Eater…I wasn't…believe me…"

"You weren't? Then you would not object to me displaying your forearm to my fellow members of the Wizengamot," smiled Dumbledore and before Pettigrew could react, Dumbledore snapped his fingers and the sleeve of Pettigrew's robe disappeared from his wrist to his elbow, making the Dark Mark on his forearm visible to all; and the courtroom broke out into shrieks and gasps.

...

They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.

"Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once... well, there's no other choice... I'll run."  
"I'll go,"said Acquila, worried for Harry.

"No Acquila. This time I will."

He took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. Acquila expected the birds to go flying towards Harry but nothing happened. The three of them followed reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hermione tried her Alohomora charm.

"Now what?" said Ron.

"These birds... they can't be here just for decoration," said Acquila.  
They watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering ... glittering?

"They're not birds!" Harry said suddenly. "They're keys! Winged keys ... look carefully. So that must mean..." he looked around the chamber while the other three squinted up at the flock of keys. "... yes... look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are hundreds of them!" Ron examined the lock on the door.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one ... probably silver, like the handle." Hermione suggested.  
They each seized a broomstick and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.  
Not for nothing, though, was Harry the youngest Seeker in a century. He had a knack for spotting things other people didn't. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.

"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one ... there ... no, there ... with bright blue wings ... the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling, and nearly fell off his broom.

"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called, not taking his eyes off the key with the damaged wing. "Ron, you come at it from above ... Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down, Acquila come at it from opposite me and I'll try and catch it. NOW!"

Ron dived, Hermione rocketed upward, Acquila was racing towards it, the key dodged them, and Harry streaked after it; it sped toward the wall, Harry leaned forward and with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. Acquila, Ron and Hermione's cheers echoed around the high chamber.  
They landed quickly, and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned ... it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.

"Ready?" Harry asked the other three, his hand on the door handle. They nodded. He pulled the door open.

The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

...

"Merlin's beard!"

"Mother of Salazar!"

"Circe's wand!"

The courtroom was full of shocked and scared voices. Even after more than a decade of Voldemort's fall, the Dark Mark brought back memories of the years spent battling the violence perpetrated by Tom Riddle and his Death-Eaters in the minds of the people present before Pettigrew.

"Silence!" Amelia's exasperated voice boomed through the room. "I understand that this comes as a great shock to all of you, but kindly maintain decorum."

The exclamations died down, as every single person in the room looked at Pettigrew, with Remus glaring at him with a rage Peter had never seen in his amber eyes.

"Since when have you been a Death-Eater?" asked Amelia Bones.

"I…I was forced…I didn't want to…" Peter broke down into raucous sobs, trying to wipe his tears with his hands, but failing to do so due to the chains shackled to his hands.

"Since when have you been a Death-Eater, Mister Pettigrew?" repeated Amelia Bones.

"Since…since Nineteen Eighty…"

"Do not lie, Peter. We knew that there was a spy within our midst who passed on information to Voldemort long before Ninteen Eighty. Tell us the truth, or we will be forced to administer Veritaserum to you," said Dumbledore as the members of the Wizengamot nodded and shouted 'yes' in agreement.

At the mention of Veritaserum, Pettigrew turned paler and started shivering with fear. Did they know of him having killed the Muggles and Athena? Did they know of him having betrayed James and Lily? Perhaps it would be better if he answered the questions asked to him rather than have Veritaserum forced down his throat and blurting out his secrets.

"Since I was nineteen years old…in Nineteen Seventy Nine…" he finally replied.

"Why did you join Voldemort?" asked Amelia.

"I was scared…people were dying…and…the Order was losing…I didn't want to die…" he sobbed pathetically.

"Why did you murder the thirteen Muggles and pin the blame on Sirius Black?" asked Dumbledore.

"Noooo…I did not…Sirius killed them…not me…I swear…it wasn't me…he killed them…because he came to kill me…that's why I have been hiding for so long…"

"Dumbledore! Pettigrew is a Death-Eater, but that doesn't mean Sirius Black killed the Muggles! The Aurors caught him laughing at the scene of the crime!" exclaimed a witch sitting on Umbridge's left.

"The Potters were protected by a relatively lesser-known magical charm. Peter Pettigrew betrayed the Potters resulting in their deaths. When Sirius Black came to know of what Pettigrew had done, he went after him to avenge the deaths of his friends. But Pettigrew blew the street with a curse, cut off his finger and transformed into a rat and fled into the Muggle sewer, pinning the blame on Sirius Black. Am I right, Peter?"

"No…no…I didn't…" cried Pettigrew, but the expression of guilt which flitted momentarily didn't go unnoticed by the people present in the courtroom.

"Do not lie, Mister Pettigrew," said Amelia Bones.

"I am not lying…I didn't kill them…I didn't…I am innocent…"

"Would you deny killing Athena McKinnon Black as well?" interjected Dumbledore.

"Nooo…I didn't…I didn't…" sputtered Pettigrew.

"I ask you one last time, Mister Pettigrew. Do you admit to having killed Athena McKinnon Black and the thirteen Muggles?" said Amelia Bones.

"No…I did not…believe me…I did not…" whimpered Pettigrew, knowing that an admission of his guilt would lead to a life sentence in Azkaban, or even the Dementor's kiss.

"Remus…believe me, Remus…I could never kill Athena…nor betray James…James was my brother…we are the Marauders, Remus…you're my friend…my brother…"

"Shut up, Peter! You are no Marauder! You betrayed us all! How could you kill Athena? How could you betray James and Lily? You orphaned Harry! And you as good as orphaned Acquila by framing Sirius for your crimes! Don't you dare ask me to believe you! You traitorous…"

"Calm down, Remus," said Dumbledore as Pettigrew turned to him.

"Professor Dumbledore…I didn't kill her…believe me, Sir…"

"You have given us no reason to believe what you say, Peter," said Dumbledore sadly.

"I didn't kill them…I didn't…" Peter kept sobbing.

"Those in favour of Veritaserum to be administered to the accused?" said Amelia Bones and as a majority of the members of the Wizengamot raised their hands, Amelia Bones whipped out a small vial full of a liquid and an Auror who was standing by the door rushed in to administer the Veritaserum to a protesting Pettigrew.

...

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Acquila were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Acquila, Harry, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly ... the towering white chessmen had no faces.

"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."  
Behind the white pieces they could see another door.

"How?" said Hermione nervously.

"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen."

"You want to lead us, Acquila?" Ron asked. "You are really good at it now."

"No Ron. I've beaten you only a couple of times. You are the all time champion."Acquila said.

Ron flushed red at the comment and walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.

"Do we ...er... have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other three.

"This needs thinking about he said. I suppose we've got to take the place of four of the black pieces..."

Acquila, Harry and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are good at chess except for Acquila..."

"We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do."

"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle and Acquila you be the queen."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.

The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, a bishop, the queen and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving four empty squares that Acquila, Harry, Ron,  
and Hermione took.

"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board.

"Yes... look..."

A white pawn had moved forward two squares.  
Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Acquila noticed that Harry's knees were trembling.

"Don't worry, Harry. Ron great at Chess! We'll surely win,"Acquila assured him.

"Harry ...move diagonally four squares to the right."

Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.

"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."

Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall.

Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in danger. He and Acquila darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.

"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think let me think..."

The white queen turned her blank face toward him.

"Yes..." said Ron softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be taken."

"NO!"Acquila, Harry and Hermione shouted.

"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me ... that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"

"There must be another way,"Acquila said, peering across the chess board desperately trying to find another solution.  
"It's the only way, Acquila!"said Ron, looking braver than ever, like a true knight.

"But ..." Harry started to say.

"Do you want to stop the thief or not?"

"Ron ..."

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"

There was no alternative.

"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go - now, don't hang around once you've won."

He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor - Acquila looked away and Hermione screamed but stayed on her square - the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.

Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.

The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Ron, Acquila, Harry and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway.

"What if he's ...?"

"He'll be all right," said Harry, trying to convince himself.

"What do you reckon's next?"Acquila asked.

"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've put charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell's spell, and Snape's."

They had reached another door.

"All right?" Harry whispered.

"Go on."

Harry pushed it open.

...

"No…no…" cried Wormtail; but fell silent once the colour-less liquid slid down his throat.

"What is your name?" asked Amelia Bones; starting with the basic questions to determine that the potion was indeed taking effect.

"Peter Patrick Pettigrew."

"Were you a Death-Eater?"

"Yes. I was."

Remembering that Dumbledore did not want the secret-keeper matter to be known to the public, Madam Bones asked Pettigrew, "Did you betray the Potters to He-who-must-not-be-named?" without mentioning the Fidelius Charm.

"Yes, I did. I told the Dark Lord of the Potters' whereabouts."

"Did you kill thirteen Muggles who died on the Muggle street which Sirius Black confronted you on?"

"Yes."

"Tell us what happened that day."

"When Sirius knew that I betrayed James and Lily, he came after me. He tracked me down and demanded why I betrayed them. When he cornered me, I cut off my finger, yelled for the entire street to hear that Sirius betrayed Lily and James, and with my wand behind my back, I blew apart the street, killing the people around me and I transformed into a rat and sped down the sewer."

"What happened after that?" asked Dumbledore ignoring the exclamations reverberating through the courtroom.

"I went to the street where Sirius lived. I saw Athena with Acquila in her arms. I had to kill Athena as she was the only person alive other than Sirius, who knew that I was secret-keeper for the Potters. Before she could take the wand out of her pocket, I killed her with the killing curse. I was about to kill Acquila as well, but I could not. I then apparated away and destroyed my wand as I knew from Sirius' years as an Auror than an owner could be traced through any magic performed with his wand. I roamed around villages where wizarding families lived and then decided to settle down with the Weasleys. Percy Weasley found me in his garden and adopted me as a pet."

"I think we have gained more than enough evidence to convict Mister Pettigrew. Since the accused is mentally sane, the testimony given under Veritaserum is admissible as official evidence. Does anyone have any more questions…" Amelia Bones stopped mid-way through her sentence on seeing the alarmed expression on Dumbledore's face.

...

A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making both of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.

"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs.

"Come on, I can't breathe."

"See! I was right! Quirrell's the thief!"exclaimed Acquila.

"How do you know?" asked Harry.

"I have been researching on Quirrell since I thought he was after the stone. He is an expert at tackling trolls. No one's as good as him. He was the one who must have let the troll out on Halloween. ,"said Acquila, as they walked towards the door ahead.

"Even Snape is powerful enough! He could have defeated it too, with his magic!" responded Hermione, as Harry pulled open the door, the three of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"Snape's obstacle," said Harry. "What do we have to do?"

They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward.

They were trapped.

"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Acquila and Harry looked over her shoulder to read it."

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, which ever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide  
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing. Acquila looked puzzled trying to make out the riddle by re reading it.

"Brilliant," said Hermione. "This isn't magic ...it's logic ... a puzzle.

A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."

"But so will we, won't we?"

"Of course not," said Hermione. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."

"But how do we know which to drink?"

"Give me a minute."

Acquila and Hermione read the paper several times. Then Hermione walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.

"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire ... toward the Stone."  
Harry looked at the tiny bottle.

"There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow."

They looked at each other.

"Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"

Acquila pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.

"This one" she and Hermione said together.

"Hermione, you drink that, get back and get Ron. Grab brooms from the flying- key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy ... go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. We might be able to hold the thief off for a while,"said Acquila.

"We?" exclaimed Harry. "You aren't coming, Acquila! You go back with Hermione!"

"I'm not letting you go ahead alone. What if Voldermort's with him?"

"Well ... I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again. And anyway the potion is just one gulp; both of us can't take it."

"I _am_ coming! We'll split the potion. We are just 11, I'm sure a few drops of it each will take us through,"Acquila said with finality to her voice and picked up the bottle.

Hermione's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Acquila and Harry and threw her arms around them.

"Hermione!" They both said together.

"Harry ... you're a great wizard, you know and Acquila, you're such a great witch!"

"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of them.

"You are the intelligent one, Hermione!" said Acquila.

"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things ... friendship and bravery and ... just be careful! Both of you…"

"You drink it first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"

"Positive," said Hermione. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end, and shuddered.

"It's not poison, is it?" said Harry anxiously.

"No ... but it's like ice."

"Quick! Go; before it wears off,"said Acquila.

"Good luck ...take care."

"GO!"

Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire.

Acquila and Harry took a deep breath and looked at each other. Acquila took a small sip and handed the bottle to Harry. Hermione was right; it was like ice flooding through her body.  
Harry put the bottle down, Acquila took his hand in hers and they walked forward  
The black flames licked their body, but they couldn't feel them ... for a moment they could see nothing but dark fire ... then they were on the other side, in the last chamber.

There was already someone there ... but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.

"I told you so,"muttered Acquila, looking at Quirrell.

...

"I have to leave. Immediately," said Dumbledore and stood up. "Remus, Andromeda, you may come with me if you wish."

"But what's the matter, Albus?" asked Amelia.

"Dumbledore! You can't leave! What do I tell the public? They'll blame the Ministry for having put Black in prison without even verifying whether he was innocent!" howled Fudge.

"I will talk to you later, Cornelius. It is imperative that I leave for Hogwarts immediately. Amelia, kindly carry on the hearing and let me know of the sentencing and of the declaration of Sirius' innocence," said Dumbledore and before anyone else could protest, he walked out of the courtroom at a pace far faster than Remus had expected a more-than-a-century-old wizard to possess.

"What's the matter, Albus?" Remus asked him, as he and Andromeda walked through the corridor.

"Harry is in danger."

"What!" Andromeda and Remus exclaimed together.

Suddenly, Fawkes appeared before them out of nowhere.

"Hold on to his tail feathers," said Dumbledore and as soon as the other two did so, they disappeared from the corridor and appeared into the Great Hall.

...

"You!" gasped Harry.

Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here,

Potter. But I didn't expect Ms. Black to be here."

"But I thought - Snape -"

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but a cold and sharp laugh. "Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell? Your friend here was right all along."

Harry couldn't take it in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't.

"But Snape tried to kill me!"

"No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your friend Miss Granger accidentallyknocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditchmatch. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you."

"Snape was trying to save me?"

"Of course," said Quirrell coolly. "Why do you think he wanted toreferee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do itagain. Funny, really... he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself unpopular... I was the one who set the troll on Halloween. I wanted a distraction to get through the trapdoor, but Snape caught on to me. But my luck was bad the three headed dog didn't even tear out his limb properly and that stupid troll couldn't manage to kill you kids. and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill youtonight."

"No, you are not!"exclaimed Acquila, standing in front of Harry. Acquila was about to attack Quirrell when  
Quirrell snapped his fingers and ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry and Acquila.

"Harry!" she exclaimed and grasped Harry's hand.

And Harry suddenly felt a surge of magic within her; and within Acquila as well. What was happening? How could he feel Acquila's magic?

A moment later, the ropes binding them had disappeared.

Quirrell was shocked.

"How did you do that?"

Taking advantage of Quirrell staggering Harry drew his wand and was just about to attack when he heard an icy voice.

"Let me see them!" It said. "They are powerful for mere eleven year-olds."  
Acquila and Harry looked at each other in shock. The voice was coming from Quirrell himself

"You aren't strong enough for this, Master"Quirrell said.

"Let me see them," the voice said again in a commanding voice.

Quirrell started taking off his turban. His head looked strangely small without it. As soon as Quirrellun-wrapped his turban, Harry felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move a muscle. He somehow managed to turn his face and lookat Acquila, who was staring at Quirrell's head, her grey eyes more fearful than Harry had ever seen them. He looked back at Quirrell.

Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face they had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Acquila Black!" said the face. "The Black heiress! What a powerful witch! And at such a tender age! You remind me of Bellatrix, just as beautiful and just as much power! Despite being born to blood-traitors and having been raised by muggles, you would make a wonderful addition to my followers! You will be very useful to me after I come back. You will uplift the name of your noble family. I am giving you a chance to leave. I do not wish to spill pure blood, especially that of a powerful witch. I just need Potter."

"I am not going to leave and I will never join the dark side! I would rather die!"Acquila spat at him.

The face laughed a blood-chilling laugh.

"Your father's daughter, are you? I asked him to join me thrice, and thrice did he refuse me. Do not make the same mistake as he did."

"Acquila! Go! I'll be fine!" said Harry and started pushing Acquila towards the door.

"I am not going to leave you, Harry!" she said indignantly, stopping his attempts to push her.

"I give you one more chance, girl. You remind me of Potter's mudblood mother. I had given her the chance to stand aside and save her life. But she chose to die for this boy. Do not repeat her mistake."

"I am going nowhere, Voldemort!" she snarled.

"So be it,"the face said. "You have made your choice. What a waste of blood and power it will be when I kill you."

"NO!" Harry screamed, raising his wand threateningly.

The face turned to Harry.

"Harry Potter..." it whispered.

"See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life,I will be able to create a body of my own. Now stand in front of the mirror and get me that stone. Quirrell hasn't been able to figure out how to get the stone. You are the key, Harry Potter."

That was when Harry realised that Quirrell was standing in front of the Mirror of Erised.

"No Harry! Don't!"Acquila screamed.

"I'm not doing anything you ask me to," retorted Harry defiantly.

"I am sure you will give in, within a few seconds," said Voldemort with a sadistic smile.

And then Quirrell picked up his wand and aimed it at Acquila.

"CRUCIO!"

...

Without a word, Dumbledore rushed towards the staircase, followed by the other two, when a loud shriek caught their attention.

"Professor Dumbledore! Harry has…" yelled Hermione.

"Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?" interrupted Dumbledore and as Hermione nodded in affirmation, he rushed up the staircase, Remus and Andromeda at his heels.

They sped up the staircase and into the room where the Fluffy stood.

"Wait here," Dumbledore said to Andromeda in a commanding voice and she reluctantly agreed as Remus and Dumbledore rushed into the room.

...

As soon as the curse hit Acquila, she fell to the ground, screaming and twitching in pain.

Suddenly, Harry fell to the ground too. He felt like a million needles were pricking him at once. And he somehow knew that the pain he was feeling wasn't his, but Acquila's. And it was just a fraction of the pain Acquila was feeling.

"STOP!" Harry screamed. "I'll do it. Leave her alone."

"Just as I expected," said Quirrell.

"No! Don't do it, Harry!" Acquila managed to say as she struggled to breathe.

Harry stopped on his way to the mirror and turned to look at Acquila.

That's when Quirrell uttered the curse again.

"Crucio!"

Acquila twitched and flailed violently, screaming her lungs out; as Harry kept screaming for Quirrell to stop.

Quirrell finally stopped the curse, and Acquila finally fell silent. She had fainted.

"Acquila!" he screamed, scared that Quirrell had killed her.

"You killed her? I'll kill you!" he thundered at the man as he ran towards Acquila.

"Stop!" roared Quirrell. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. She isn't dead, just unconscious. But take one more step towards her and I'll kill her!"

Harry stepped back.

"Look into the mirror and tell me what you see."

Harry walked toward him.  
I must lie, he thought desperately. I must look and lie about what Isee, that's all. Quirrell moved close behind him. He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again.

He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket ... and as it did so,

Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow ... incredibly ... he'd gotten the Stone.

"Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?"

Harry gathered up his courage.

"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," he invented. "I ... I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."

Quirrell cursed again.

"Get out of the way," he said. As Harry moved aside, he felt thePhilosopher's Stone against his leg. He thought of running to Acquila and dragging her out of the chamber while Quirrell was distracted.

But he hadn't walked five paces before Voldermort spoke.

"He lies... He lies..."

"Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"

"Now... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"Voldermort said.

So he knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Harry's legs. He stumbled backward.

"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents... They died begging me for mercy..."

"LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly.

Quirrell was walking backward at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.

"How touching..." it hissed.

"I always value bravery... Yes, boy, your parents were brave... I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight... but your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you, just like Acquila Black here... Now give me the Stone, unless you want your mother to havedied in vain."

"NEVER!"

Harry sprang towardsAcquila, but Voldemort screamed "SEIZE HIM!"and the next second, Harry raised his wand at Quirrell trying to think of a curse but he couldn't come up with anything.

Suddenly, inexplicably, curses started flying out of Harry's wand! He felt immense power emerging through his own self and channeling itself into the wand and towards Quirrell.

White! Blue! Red!Jets of light started flying through Harry's Phoenix-feather wand. And though some of the curses hit Quirrell, he managed to evade most of them.

He started throwing his own curses at Harry, which Harry dodged too, thanks to his light body, quick reflexes and his Seeker training.

Luckily, one of Harry's curses hit Quirrell and he fell onto the groud.

Harry rushed towards Acquila.

"Wake up! Wake up! Acquila!"

But Acquila didn't move at all, though Harry could feel her heart beating as he put her ear to her chest to determine if she was alive. Seeing that Quirrell still lay motionless, he stood up and tried to drag Acquila towards the door. He was hardly ten steps away from the door, when suddenly, a wall of fire shot up through the floor, bringing Harry to an abrupt halt.

"Aaaaa!' he screamed reflexively, and turned around, only to see that he, Acquila and Quirrell stood within a ring of fire which Quirrell had conjured.

"No way of escape now, Potter! Give me the stone!" Quirrell screamed as he neared Harry. Harry groaned as he realised that in his haste to drag Acquila out of the door, he had left his wand on the floor.

As Quirrell neared him, he shook Acquila vigorously, trying to wake her up. But she remained motionless. He then shut his eyes and tried to stop Quirrell wandlessly, as McGonagall had taught Acquila; but he was exhausted. He remained rooted to the spot, unable to move backwards due to the fire which blazed behind them.

He then felt Quirrell's hand close on his wrist. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two; he yelled, struggling with all his might, and to his surprise, Quirrell let go of him. The pain in his head lessened ... he looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers ... they were blistering before his eyes.

"Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet' landing on top of him, both hands around Harry's neck ...Harry's scar was almost blinding him with pain, yet he could see Quirrell howling in agony.

"Master, I cannot hold him ... my hands ... my hands!"

And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let goof his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms ... Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny.

"Then kill him, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort.

Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Harry, byinstinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face ...

"AAAARGH!"

Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew: Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain ... his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from casting a curse.

Harry jumped to his feet, caught Quirrell by the arm, and hung on as tight as he could. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off ... the pain in Harry's head was building ... he couldn't see ... he could only hear Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL HIM!

KILL HIM!" and other voices, maybe in Harry's own head, crying, "Harry!Harry!"

He felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down ... down... down...

...

"Acquila! Harry!"

Remus Lupin had never thought the prim-and-proper Andromeda capable of letting out such a scream, as he carried Acquila out of the room, followed by Dumbledore who levitated Harry.

"What happened to them?" Andromeda shrieked as she waved her wand over their unconscious bodies, to diagnose what was wrong with them.

"Holy Merlin! She has had the Crutiatus Curse cast on her!" she gasped as Remus looked shocked, while Dumbledore looked grave, as if his suspicions were confirmed.

"And Harry?" Remus asked, as Dumbledore gradually placed Harry on the ground.

"Magical exhaustion," she said; her wand glowed as she waved it over Harry's body.

"Hospital wing! Now!" she said as Dumbledore put a feather-light charm on Harry and rushed towards the Hospital wing; with Remus, who held Acquila, and Andromeda following them.

A few minutes later, as Madam Pomfrey fretted over Harry, while Andromeda treated Acquila, Dumbledore sent a Patronus to Hagrid. Quirrell's body would have to be moved. And the Flamels would have to be informed about the bid to steal the Stone too.

"How are they?" he asked Poppy and Andromeda.

"Harry will take at least a couple of days to wake up. He is suffering from severe magical exhaustion."

"And Acquila?"

"The same as Harry; though her body is still tingling with the after-effects of the Crutiatus Curse," said Andromeda softly, shutting her eyes to prevent a tear from escaping her eye. The Crutiatus Curse, cast on one so young. Andromeda shuddered as she thought of the pain that Acquila must have gone through. And she knew from her diagnosis, that she had been subjected to the curse not once, but twice; with the second curse being of greater duration.

"I will be back in some time, then. I need to inform Mister Weasley's parents," he said, motioning to Ron who lay sleeping in a bed in the corner. A reluctant Hermione had been sent off to her dormitory by Madam Pomfrey.

"Not so soon, Dumbledore!" snarled Andromeda. "You gave me your word that you will take care of Harry and Acquila, and protect them against He-who-must-not-be-named! And look what has happened to the children! Acquila was subjected to the Crutiatus Curse twice! She is going to be unconscious for at least three days! How could you keep the stone in a school full of children? And how did You-know-who get into the Castle? And who the hell cast the torture curse on my niece?" screamed Andomeda, the volume of her voice rising with each sentence.

"Healer Tonks! Hush! You will wake up Mister Weasley!" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey, as Andromeda seemed to remember that Ron still lay asleep in the bed in the corner.

"I…I am sorry, Madam Pomfrey,' she said apologetically, but then turned to Dumbledore with her rage-filled black eyes.

"Answer me, Dumbledore! Who cast the curse on Acquila?"

"I know I erred, Andromeda. In my bid to get Pettigrew an immediate trial, I had to leave Hogwarts, and I thought that the enchantments put in place to protect the Stone would stop the thief from stealing it…"

"Who cast the curse?" she interrupted him.

"It was Quirrell. Voldemort's soul had possessed him..."

"Oh Merlin!" gasped Madam Pomfrey, clasping her hands to her mouth. "He-who-must-not-be-named? Alive?"

"Yes, Poppy."

"How could you not know that a member of your staff was being possessed by You-know-who?" demanded Andromeda.

"I agree with Mrs. Tonks, Albus. How did you not realise that Quirrell was possessed?"

Suddenly, a glimmering rabbit appeared before Dumbledore.

"Pettigrew has been sentenced to Azkaban for life. And Sirius has been declared innocent. I will owl you the detailed copy of the Judgment soon."

"Thank Merlin!" sighed Remus. "Where do you think Sirius is? He should be here, Albus! I am sure he would want to know!"

"I assure you that Sirius will come to Hogwarts soon," said Dumbledore.

"You know where he is?"

"I do not know where he is, but I have a hunch that a certain feline knows of his current whereabouts. Now, allow me to take leave of you. I need to inform the Weasleys and Mrs. Malfoy of their injured charges. And...ah! There comes Cornelius' owl!" said Dumbledore and walked out of the room, reading the letter which the owl dropped on him.

"What feline? What was he talking about, Remus?" asked Andromeda.

"I have no clue. But a feline? Shouldn't it have been scared of a Grim?" muttered Lupin, more to himself than to Andromeda and walked away to dwell over what Dumbledore said, leaving two confused witches in his wake.

As Andromeda sat by Acquila's bedside, caressing her niece's hand, she felt an influx of emotions within her. Anger against Dumbledore for having failed to protect the kids, pain at the thought of what Harry and Acquila must have endured at Voldemort's hands, elation at Sirius' acquittal, an increasing dread of whether Sirius would forgive her, and guilt at having failed to keep Harry and Acquila safe. She was brought out of her thoughts by the arrival of a snow-white owl who dropped a letter on Andromeda's lap and then began hooting angrily at her, ignoring the outraged shrieks of Madam Pomfrey who tried to chase Hedwig away accompanied by shouts of "No owls in the Hospital Wing!"

As Hedwig was about to fly off, after having nipped Andromeda's finger rather hard, she seemed to have noticed Harry lying on the bed.

"Hoot, Hoot!" said the bird, looking questioningly at Andromeda.

"It's Harry's owl, Madam Pomfrey," Andromeda said to the Nurse, urging her to stop her efforts to drive the owl away.

"Harry's magically exhausted...uhh...he'll wake up in a couple of days," Andromeda said to the owl, feeling rather foolish for doing so. She wondered wryly of what her Black ancestors would have said if they knew that a daughter of their House, albeit a disowned one, had taken to answering an Owl's questioning look.

Hedwig gave Andromeda a stern glance, as if telling her to take care of Harry and then perched onto Harry's pillow and moved her wing gingerly over Harry's hair in an affectionate gesture, leading to renewed shouts from Madam Pomfrey who was standing by Ron's bedside.

Andromeda stared at the bird till it flew out of sight and then opened the letter, and felt guilt seeping through her again.

Harry and Acquila had written to her, asking whether she could help them with the Stone. Hedwig probably hadn't been able to pass through the wards in the Ministry of Magic. If only Andromeda had got the letter in time. She could have informed Dumbledore and prevented the kids for venturing through the trapdoor. As Andromeda regretfully reread the letter, she was brought out of her thoughts when she saw a number of people walk into the Hospital Wing- Sprout, McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid-who started bawling loudly on seeing the unconscious Harry and Acquila; and Snape.

"Shhhh! Hagrid!" Madam Pomfrey hushed Hagrid who seemed to be blaming himself for having blurted out information about the Philosopher's Stone to the kids.

Minerva McGonagall merely glanced sadly at Andromeda, as did Sprout and Flitwick; but Andromeda was surprised at Snape's behaviour. He seemed outwardly disinterested in the children's health; but Andromeda noticed the sudden hint of concern which filled his eyes when his eyes first fell on Harry's unconscious form. His face then turned completely emotionless; a façade which Andromeda recognised immediately, but virtue of having been born as a Black and spent seven years in the Slytherin dormitory. Did Snape care for Harry? But Harry and Acquila had told her that he seemed to hate them.

"Professor Sprout, would you please send for Nymphadora from the Hufflepuff dormitory?" Andromeda asked the Head of Hufflepuff.

"Oh yes. I'll go and get her," the lady smiled at Andromeda.

As Madam Pomfrey started ushering everyone out, claiming that they were crowding the room, a loud shriek of "RONALD!" was heard and a middle-aged woman rushed towards the bed, clutching the sleeping red-head to herself.

"What's happened to my son?" Molly Weasley asked the Nurse, who told her to let go off Ron as he needed to rest.

"Mum! I am fine!" groaned Ron's muffled voice.

"Oh! You're awake, Weasley!" said Madam Pomfrey.

"What happened to you, Ronniekins?" Molly asked Ron, as Arthur and Ginny came forward to see him.

"Don't call me that, mum!" said a mortified Ron, before he suddenly exclaimed, "Bloody hell! Where's Harry? And Acquila? And Hermione?"

"Calm down, Mister Weasley," came a voice from the door.

"Dumbledore!" exclaimed Arthur.

"Hello Arthur, Molly. Your son is fine, according to Poppy here. But I have called you here to tell you that you may have the Aurors calling you all for questioning."

"What?" came the shocked exclamation from the four red-heads.

...

Nyx sprinted down the staircase of the girls' dormitory. The feline had fallen asleep, only to wake up and see that Acquila and Hermione weren't in their beds.

"Nyx!" Hermione's voice called out to the cat, from where she sat in the common room with Neville.

"Meow! Meow!"

"Looking for Acquila? She's in the Hospital Wing," Hermione said to the green-eyed cat.

Nxy gave her a strange look and then bounded towards the portrait hole.

"Wait! Madam Pomfrey won't allow you in!" shouted Hermione; but Nyx had somehow managed to open the door and slip out of the common room, and rushed towards the Forbidden Forest, where she knew Sirius would be waiting for her.

...

"What! Scabbers was Pe…Pettigrew!" sputtered Ron, unable to believe what the Headmaster had told him.

As Molly Weasley smothered Ron with kisses and hugs, thankful that Pettigrew hadn't hurt him in the ten years that he was their pet, Arthur seemed unusually grave.

"Dumbledore…how did none of us stand up for Sirius? He was part of the Order…he was one of us! And not one person believed that he was innocent…how did we…he will never forgive us…"

"I know, Arthur, I know," said Dumbledore with a glance at Andromeda and Remus whose faces seemed guilt-stricken.

As the two Weasleys discussed the case with Dumbledore and Remus, while Ron seemed to still be in a state of shock regarding the identity of his rat; Ginny stood beside Ron's bed- her face red, as she stared at the Harry's unconscious figure. Snape stood in a corner, observing the proceedings with an impassive face. Nymphadora, who had come to visit her cousins, sat in a corner of the room, with her Charms book in her hand, for her NEWT which was to begin in a few hours. Snape snorted as he noticed her glancing repeatedly at Remus from the corner of her eyes, with an adoring expression on her face. To his utter chagrin, he noticed Ginny Weasley staring at; which reminded Snape of all the times James had looked at Lily with the same worshipping look in his eyes. What was it with red-headed girls and the Potter men?

Madam Pomfrey had tried to make them all leave, but had failed as Dumbledore had insisted that they could remain here, since even if they did make any noise, Harry and Acquila wouldn't hear it anyway, since they were unconscious.

"Dumbledore!" came a voice from the door-way. "Where's my niece?"

As Madam Pomfrey rushed towards Narcissa in an exasperated bid to tell her to lower her voice, Draco came bounding into the room.

"Acquila!" he shouted and rushed towards the girl's bed.

"She can't hear you, Malfoy. She will gain consciousness within the next couple of days," the Nurse told Draco as he stared worriedly at Acquila and then glared at Harry who lay on the adjacent bed.

But Andromeda noticed none of that. Her eyes were glued to her sister, as Narcissa looked sadly at Acquila, with deep concern in her otherwise cold eyes. Had Narcissa indeed started caring for Acquila?

As Narcissa conjured a chair and sat beside Acquila's bed, Draco roared in anger, "I had told her! I had told her to remain away from Potter and his stupid friends! Look where he landed her! Look at what Potter has done!"

"Draco," said Narcissa warningly, as Ron yelled, "Shut up, Malfoy! Acquila can be with whoever she wants! And we aren't stupid! You are the one who's a bloody git!"

"Ronald!"exclaimed Molly, chastising Ron for swearing, while Narcissa glared coldly at the red-head for insulting her son.

"You shut up, Weasel! All Potter does is land Acquila into trouble! The Troll incident! And now this! Tell me what your Scar-headed friend do to her? Why won't she wake up for two days?" Draco retorted, as Snape snorted while the two boys argued, with their mothers trying to calm them down, while Madam Pomfrey attempted to usher them all out of the room. Dumbledore stood silently, his eyes twinkling as they observed the exchange of words. As Nymphadora started adding to the argument, Andromeda remained seated, not wanting to participate in the discussion; while Ginny and Remus stood silently, not knowing what to say.

"Acquila!" said a rasped voice from the door, bringing a sudden end to the verbal exchange.

And as the people in the room looked up to see the new entrant, their mouths dropped open in shock.

The man rushed towards the beds where Acquila and Harry lay; unmindful of the people around him who stared at his gaunt, sunken face, waxy skin, and long, matted hair; he looked rather like a corpse.

Sirius ran towards Acquila and gathered the unconscious girl in his arms, "Wake up! Acquila! Are you alright? Acquila!" he cried, oblivious to Remus' gasp of 'Padfoot' and Snape's spiteful 'Black', while Andromeda walked up to him and hesitantly put her hand on his shoulder- shocked on seeing her cousin, who was once one of the most handsome wizards in Britain reduced to such a pathetic state "Sirius?" she said softly, but he seemed not to have heard or felt her; his attention centered on his daughter who refused to wake up.

**A/N: ****Please let us know how you find this update! Your reviews help us gauge whether our writing is well-received or not! Thanks for reading! :-)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the long wait! If I start with the reasons for the lateness, it will take another hundred words...so let's start with the chapter! Hope you like it! :-) Do let us know how you find it! And thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! We were overwhelmed with the appreciation! Thank you all!

**mdauben, A Frozen Shadow, Anonymous0786, Theta-McBride - **Thank you so much! Hope you like this one as well!

**Magicheart5355**- Thanks! Same here! I felt so bad for Sirius in canon! He'll have a much happier life here! :-)

**guest-** Thank you so much! She will indeed grow more powerful in the coming chapters, especially with Sirius by her side! As for the Malfoys, you'll have to read this chapter to know! ;-)

**JustAnotherPotterFan1999**- Ah! I'm glad our writing brings out emotions in our readers! Thanks a ton! Hope you like this one too!

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**Firefly17**- Yes, there will be a sequel. A continuation of year one! Hope you like this chapter as well!

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**Martin Blue** - Aww! I'm glad you started reading the story again! And I hope you like Chapter 16 too! Thanks!

**Guest**: It's sis! Sisters, rather, since it's two of us who write together! ;-) Thanks!

**PotterHead999**- Ah! I just love your reviews and wait for them after I update each chapter! Love you too! And I'm glad you agree with our reasoning for the events that take place in the story! Thank you so much! :-)

**xxSunnyXBlackxx** - Thank you! No, it isn't close to the end! Many more chapters to go! :-)

**Guest** - Thanks! And I did understand the English! :-)

And **Mediatrix! **Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you liked the way we've portrayed Draco, since we were a bit apprehensive about how it was going to be recieved. I can't wait to write of Harry and Acquila's relationship too! And I'm happy you liked the bond idea regarding Harry! Thank you! I'm thrilled that you liked Acquila's character! :-)

**Disclaimer:** Everything in the Harry Potter world belongs to J. K. Rowling, except Athena, Acquila and Blishwick.

**Chapter 16: Thawing the Ice**

"Sirius," said Andromeda, placing her hand gently on his shoulder.

"Let go of her. She's alright, just unconscious," she said, as she attempted to pry his hands off his daughter; Madam Pomfrey too came bustling towards them, while Remus and the others seemed unsure of what to do.

"She's fine, Siri," Andromeda told him softly; and it was then that he finally looked up at his cousin.

"Andy!" he gasped, as he looked into her eyes.

"I'm sorry for..." she started to apologise; wanting to beg his forgiveness for not having believed in his innocence, not having demanded a trial for him; but he cut her off: "What's wrong with her? Why isn't she...James!" he exclaimed suddenly on noticing Harry's sleeping figure. He rushed towards Harry's bedside. "No...Harry...he's Harry," he muttered, "He looks just like Jamie...what happened to him?"

"Both of them are magically exhausted, Black. They will wake up in some time," said Madam Pomfrey, knowing that Sirius would react extremely if he knew of the Crutiatus Curse and that the children would take a couple of days to wake up.

Meanwhile, Arthur Weasley discreetly left the room with a reluctant Molly and Ginny in tow, knowing that Sirius needed time with his family, while Madam Pomfrey shut the curtains around Ron's bed and put up a silencing charm as well, much to his chagrin. Draco stood behind his mother, staring at the newly-acquitted man fearfully.

"Padfoot,"came a voice from behind Sirius and Sirius looked up into the face of one of his oldest friends. He stood up, facing Remus; and the two men looked at each other for a long moment.

Words seemed to fail Remus. Where could he start from? Apologise for having thought of Sirius to have been the spy;for not even once having thought of the possibility of Sirius having been innocent? Remus doubted that a few words of apology could make up for ten years of imprisonment which Sirius could have avoided, only if Remus had trusted him enough.

A part of Remus-which he knew was the wolf within him- wanted to put his arms around Sirius and hug him tightly. The wolf had always thought of James, Sirius and Peter as part of his pack; but would Sirius even want to talk to him when Remus had as good as betrayed their friendship at a time when Sirius had needed him the most?

But as Remus' amber eyes gazed into the depths of Sirius' grey ones, he saw a sense of guilt mingled with happiness gleaming in them- something which was probably reflecting in his own eyes as well.

"Mooney," said Sirius finally in a choked voice, and that was all it took for Remus to cover the distance between them in two long strides and pull Sirius into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Padfoot... I'm so sorry..."Remus gushed, his eyes moist.

Sirius flinched slightly at first, and Remus knew that it was because he had probably been without human contact for almost eleven years. But then Sirius finally put his arms around Remus, hugging him like a brother.

"I'm sorry too, Mooney... I thought you were the spy," said Sirius, as the two Marauders finally let go of each other.

"It's alright, Sirius...and I should be the one apologising..."

"No, Mooney! If I hadn't been suspicious of you, James would have made you the secret-keeper and...and Lily and Prongs would have been alive..."

"None of that, Padfoot...it was Peter who led James and Lily to their deaths, not you!"

"Remus is right, my boy!" said Dumbledore, moving towards Sirius.

"Dumbledore!" exclaimed Sirius; wondering how hehadn't noticed his former Headmaster who was wearing his Chief Warlock robes.

"I'm really glad to see you, my boy! And I'm even gladder that you're a free man! Pettigrew was caught by a certain feline, who I believe you're well-acquainted with. He had a trial before the Wizengamot and confessed to his crimes under Veritaserum."

Sirius' eyes lit up with joy and relief.

"I'm acquitted of all that they had blamed me for?" he asked Dumbledore as Remus put an arm on Sirius' shoulder.

"Yes, you are; except for the secret-keeper matter, but you were never publicly charged for that. Only a few people know of it," replied Dumbledore, but suddenly, the twinkle in his blue eyes disappeared.

"I am deeply sorry for not having kept faith in you, Sirius. I always prided myself on being a good judge of character, but I realise how wrong I was. I should have known you would never betray James. But Lily and James had told me that they had made you the secret-keeper. So I believed you were guilty..."

"No, Dumbledore. I told James to make Peter the secret-keeper without telling anyone. I thought Voldemort would come after me thinking I'm the secret-keeper; but the location of the house would remain safe with Peter..."

"So it's you who led Li...them to their deaths," snarled a furious voice from a corner of the room.

"You effing Death-Eater! It was your master who killed them! I'm sure you must have gloated over James and Lily's death..."Sirius turner around and bellowed at the man he hated.

"Black!" hissed Snape, his black eyes blazing with anger. "You're ten years out of your time! So don't you dare presume..."

"Don't you dare me, Snivellus!" Sirius sneered, and Remus could see the teenaged Sirius in the face of the man who stood sneering at Snape."I don't even know what Dumbledore was thinking when he gave you a job here! You may have fooled people into believing that you were innocent; but I know you were a Death-Eater, I know where your loyalty lies..."

"You fool..." started Snape, but Dumbledore cut him off: "Enough!"

"Come with me, Severus," Dumbledore said to Snape who was still glaring at Sirius.

"No, Albus! Let me…" Snape started to retort, but Dumbledore's warning voice cut him off.

"Severus! Let them talk, we can come by here later," said the Headmaster firmly as Snape reluctantly followed him.

"Sirius?" said a feminine voice from a corner of the room. Sirius looked at the girl curiously. Her heart-shaped face was just like it was ten years ago; along with the bright eyes and the pink hair.

"Oh my little Nymph! You've grown up!" he croaked, looking at the now-grown-up girl who used to nag him for stories from his days as an Auror, and drag him for 'Trick or treat' at Halloween.

Nymphadora went running into Sirius' arms, hugging him tightly, ignoring his muddy clothes.

"You recognised me!" she said as she finally let go of him. "I knew you were innocent! I knew you would never kill Muggles! Acquila knew too! She kept telling me that you would never do anything of that sort! I missed you so much, Sirius! I missed you so much!" she said, holding both of his hands in hers.

"I missed you too, Nymph…"

"Don't call me that! Call me 'Dora'!" she retorted indignantly.

"You'll always be my little Nymph," he smirked at her.

"Tonks, you'd better go back to your dormitory now. You have your NEWT in a few hours, and I do not want to have one more patient here due to sleep-deprivation," said Madam Pomfrey, ushering Nymphadora towards the door.

"I'll come back to see you after my exam!" she winked at Sirius before sending a shy smile at a surprised Remus and departing with her Charms book.

"You should leave too, Mr Malfoy," the Nurse said to Draco and it was then that Sirius finally noticed Narcissa and Draco.

"Long time, no see, Cissy," Sirius said to Narcissa. "Your Death-Eater husband treating you well? I heard he got away from a sentence in Azkaban, thanks to your over-flowing vault in Gringotts. And ah! Your little brat is here, as well!" he smirked, looking at Draco, who visibly shrank back in fear.

"Scared of me, Draco? Spitting image of your father, aren't you? And you seem to have inherited his cowardliness as well…"

"Sirius! That's enough!" said an enraged Narcissa.

"Defending the little Death-Eater-in-making, cousin?" Sirius sneered at Narcissa.

"Narcissa, you'd better leave," said Andromeda to her estranged sister, while Remus tried to calm Sirius down.

"I'm leaving now. But I'll be coming back; after all, Acquila is my ward," Narcissa said coldly to a furious Sirius who retorted angrily, "Your ward? She may have attended the ball you threw for her, but my daughter is never ever going to step into the house of the man who killed her grandparents!"

Narcissa said nothing; she just sent one final glare at Sirius and departed with Draco, who seemed to want to get out of there as soon as possible.

Andromeda stood in a corner, not knowing what to do. Sirius had just ignored her, hadn't even spoken to her. He had been overjoyed to see Remus; he had hugged Nymphadora, and even argued with Snape and Narcissa. But he had said nothing to her. Even a word of anger or disappointment would have been better than being ignored like this.

"Sirius," she said hesitantly, walking towards her cousin. He turned around to face her, but said nothing as he gazed into her eyes. She shuddered as she sensed the acute sense of betrayal and disappointment in his eyes.

"I am sorry, Siri. I really am. I know I didn't trust you at all…I broke our promise…I was a fool, Sirius…and I can't tell you how deeply sorry I am…" she said, but he said nothing in reply.

"Say something, Siri," she almost pleaded with him. Pleading with someone was a foreign notion for her; Blacks never pleaded or begged with anyone, and she had been brought up as a daughter of the House of Black. But she was ready to do anything- beg, plead, fall at his feet- only if it meant Sirius would say something. But he said nothing as he continued looking into her eyes, which she knew were moist.

"Black, lie down here and take this potion!" said Madam Pomfrey, walking towards them with a crate full of potions of various colours. And Sirius turned around to talk to Madam Pomfrey, without saying a single word to his cousin whose eyes now glimmered with unshed tears.

"Give him some time, Andromeda," said Remus, putting his hand on the older woman's shoulders.

"Why won't he talk to me? I know I was wrong, but he could have at least said something," she whispered brokenly as Madam Pomfrey attempted to make Sirius lie down on the bed.

"I'm fine, Poppy! I don't need these potions! Mooney! Tell me what happened to the kids!" he called out to Remus as the Nurse poured down a vial full of potion into his mouth, and Sirius sputtered and made a face as the vile-tasting potion slid down his parched throat.

Remus walked to Sirius' bedside.

"Why don't we talk of this later, Padfoot?"

"No, Remus. Tell me what happened to them! Why are they unconscious?"

Remus hesitated, not knowing whether this was the right time to tell Sirius eveeything.

"Mooney!" Sirius yelled and Remus finally said, "The Philospher's Stone was hidden in the castle…Harry and Acquila went after the thief who tried to steal the stone and…" Remus stopped in mid-sentence. Sirius had fallen asleep.

"Dreamless sleep potion," said Madam Pomfrey. "Didn't want him getting hysterical…too much to handle for him…" she muttered.

Andromeda slowly walked towards Sirius' bedside. She looked at his sleeping face. With his eyes shut, she couldn't see the empty, haunting look which had replaced the liveliness in grey orbs. He seemed peaceful in his sleep, rather like the small child she had first seen sleeping peacefully in his crib. She put out her hand and gently pushed away the strands of his hair which fell over his face. She stared at his sleeping face again. He had grown older, and he hadn't really aged gracefully, though it was the effect of the Dementors and living in a dingy cell and being on the run for a year. She took his hand in her own. They were callused, and slightly bleeding, as if he had crawled over terrain using his hands. She whipped out her wand and performed a diagnostic charm on him. his heartbeat was a bit faster than normal; but what was frightening was his nutrition levels. He was severely malnourished. She looked at his sunken cheeks; they made his face look much older. The Black family jaw which he possessed now seemed much more pointed, thanks to his undernourishment.

"Go home, Andromeda. I'll stay here with him," Remus' gentle voice brought her out of her reverie.

"I'll stay here, Remus. Why don't you go home and have a nap?"

"No, Andromeda. You go home and get some rest. I won't be getting sleep anyway…there's too much to think about…Peter, Sirius, the kids…Go home. I'll wait here," he reiterated and Andromeda nodded.

All she needed now was Ted's strong arms around her, holding her as she sobbed over Sirius' cold reaction towards her. She had terribly let down the only member of her family who had cared for her. And only Ted could help her get over the heart-breaking feeling which she was currently going through. She smiled slightly at Remus, went over to Acquila and Harry's beds, and after pressing a kiss onto each kid's forehead, she departed the Infirmary, leaving a pensive Werewolf, an over-worked nurse, and three sleeping patients in her wake.

...

"Dobby!" shouted Lucius as he stormed into the living room of his Manor. "Dobby! Where is that accursed elf!" he thundered.

"Dobby is here, Master," said a squeaky voice from before Lucius.

"Why did you not come when I called you the first time, you wretched piece of filth?" roared Lucius- the elf being a favourable target for his anger at the recent happenings.

"Dobby is making pies, Master. Dobby's hands covered with flour…"

"Don't give me your stupid excuses!" snarled Lucius and landed a kick in the elf's stomach.

"No, Master! No! Dobby is sorry!" squeaked the elf, as it bent over with pain.

"Go and bang your head against the wall as a punishment! Twenty times!" he spat at Dobby and the sniffling elf disapparated with a crack.

"Lucius," said a cold voice from the doorway to the room.

"Narcissa!"

"I assume you know what has happened," she said, raising an eyebrow elegantly.

"Of course I know! That imbecile Fudge owled me, telling me to meet him urgently! And what do I see when I reach his office? Fudge preparing a statement to be released to the public regarding the trial that was held for that bastard Pettigrew! A trial which I didn't even know was held! And Pettigrew! How I in Merlin''name did that piece of vermin manage to survive? We all thought him dead! Your blood-traitor of a cousin would have remained rotting in Azkaban forever! Reducto!" he thundered, pointing his wand at an ornate vase on the mantelpiece.

"Reducto!Reducto! Reducto!" a series of century-old vases kept getting reduced to pieces as Lucius' curses landed on them. Narcissa flinched as one of his curses hit a goblin-made sword which had been hung on the wall, and bounced off it, destroying a bust of a Malfoy ancestor which lay opposite it; but she knew better than to stop her husband when he was in such a towering rage.

"I could have stopped the trial! I could have done something to make Pettigrew escape before reaching the bloody Courtroom! This all because of that idiot, Fudge! Why couldn't he have enquired beforehand with Dumbledore about why the hearing was called? Now Black has been declared innocent! And that brat of his along with the entire Black fortune will be back in Black's hands! How I wish I could kill off Dumbledore with a curse! Nosy old coot! Always putting his crooked nose into matters which don't pertain to him! What do I do now, Cissy? What do I do?" Lucius shouted furiously, though Narcissa knew that if she replied, he would flare off even further.

"I know…I'll send Greyback to hunt down Black and kill him before he is found by Dumbledore. Greyback owes me a few favours, and I am sure he would want to sink his teeth into Black's bloody bones…He'll kill him…and then all will be well again. That girl will still be our ward, and the day she turns seventeen, we'll get her married to Draco; and the entire Black fortune will be ours! Yes! And then all will go according to plan…"

Narcissa wondered whether this was the right time to tell her husband that his plans to get Sirius killed were of no good; since Dumbledore had already found him, or rather Sirius had himself come walking into Hogwarts.

"Yes, Narcissa! I am a Malfoy! I can't lose! Especially not to that interfering old man and that blood-traitor Black! I can't lose! I am not going to let Black ruin my plans! I am going to look for Greyback!" he hissed vehemently as he moved towards the door.

"Wait, Lucius!" said Narcissa, knowing that she _had_ to tell him about Sirius.

"If you haven't got a good reason to have stopped me, you're going to face my wrath, Narcissa!" he snarled, his eyes blazing with anger.

Narcissa winced imperceptibly, never having seen her husband this wrathful.

"Sirius is already with Dumbledore. I saw him at Hogwarts," she said, almost fearful of what Lucius' next reaction would be.

Lucius let out a string of curses which Narcissa was sure, would have put a filthy Muggle sailor's vocabulary to shame.

"He is at Hogwarts! How the hell did he reach Hogwarts! He has ruined all my plans! I can't even send Greyback to kill him when Black is with Dumbledore! What do I do now? What do I do now?" he started pacing around the room again, muttering under his breath.

"Lucius," Narcissa said hesitantly. "I am sure we should let things remain as they are at present. We'll think of something…"

"Think of something! Don't you understand what has happened, woman? Did you know how much that title and the fortune meant to me? The Blacks are the most ancient family still in existence! And I would have got the Gamp title too! And it would all have belonged to me! A Malfoy! The Malfoys would have owned everything that is stored in the Black vault, owned all their properties in England and abroad! All the pure-bloods would have looked up to us! We would have been the foremost Wizarding family in Britain! But your cousin has put all my plans to naught! When I get my hands on Black, I am going to kill him on the spot!"

"Lucius…" said Narcissa, wanting to calm down her husband who seemed to be going insane with rage.

"No, Narcissa! How was Pettigrew alive! And how the hell did he let himself get captured by Dumbledore? He was an average wizard, but if he had the brains to remain undiscovered for ten years, why didn't he have the sense to get away from Hogwarts? If it wasn't for him, Black would have been captured in the coming months and given the Dementor's kiss. And then we would have nothing standing between us and the Black fortune! I so detest that…"

"Lucius!" said Narcissa, more loudly, and Lucius looked at her angrily, never having been interrupted by her before.

"What?" he spat at her.

"Ruing what has happened and getting furious over it does us no good, Lucius. Rather than destroying your great-grandfather's bust and other priceless articles, you would do better to calm down and think of the steps we should take to cling on to Acquila's guardianship…"

"Dobby!"Lucius shouted out aloud.

"Yes, Master," said Dobby who appeared before them a moment later, his head bleeding from having banged it on the stone wall.

"Bring me the oldest bottle of Firewhisky from the cellar!"

"Yes, Master!" said the elf and reappeared a moment later with a bottle of Firewhisky and two glasses on an ornate tray.

"Now get lost!" snarled Lucius and kicked the elf again, before Dobby disapparated with a snap of his fingers.

As Narcissa poured out the Firewhisky and handed over the glass to Lucius, he asked her, "Won't you have a drink, Cissy?"

"No, Lucius. One of us has to keep our wits about us," she replied as Lucius smirked.

As Lucius gulped down the Firewhisky, he suddenly stopped.

"Is he sane?" he asked his wife.

"Yes, he is. He is quite coherent, and seemed to be completely in control of himself. No signs of madness like most prisoners held at Azkaban," she replied, shuddering slightly. She remembered the last time she had visited Bellatrix, to tell her of their mother Druella's death. And she distinctly remembered the all-pervading gloom which prevailed in the prison. She remembered the prison inmates calling out to her as she passed by- all of them in varying stages of insanity and mental imbalance. She remembered meeting Bellatrix, and seeing her already-slightly-insane sister having reached even greater heights of insanity; her black eyes blazing with an almost-fearsome evilness and madness. But Sirius was nothing like Bellatrix and the other prisoners had been. He seemed to be in control of his mind. Of course, he wasn't completely sane; but Narcissa had always privately thought that Sirius had never really been completely sane- probably a result of the inbreeding and being Walburga's son. He had seemed a bit overwhelmed on seeing his daughter lying unconscious. He had seemed rather hysterical when he thought of the Potter boy to have been James; but then Potter did bear an extreme resemblance to his dead father. Sirius had also uncharacteristically ignored Andromeda. Narcissa had expected him to go running into his favourite cousin's arms- the two disgraces to the Black family name reuniting after a decade. But he had instead hardly spoken to Andromeda, though that was probably a result of her not having demanded a trial for him. And then hadn't Sirius lashed out at Snape? He had even called him 'Snivellus'- the name he had tormented him with during all their years at Hogwarts. So that meant Sirius hadn't even lost any of his memory.

"Bloody blood-traitor!" snarled Lucius, bringing Narcissa out of her thoughts. "Are you sure he's sane? Or I can talk to Fudge about trying to retain Acquila's guardianship by virtue of Sirius being mentally incapable of caring for a child. It will create a small dent in the fortune in our vault…a lot of Wizengamot members will have to be paid…but I am sure we'll get wardship of the brat."

"He is completely sane, Lucius; or rather as sane as a son of Aunt Walburga's can be," she replied wryly, as Lucius called for Dobby, ordering the elf to get another bottle of Firewhisky.

"Damn him! I hate him! I _am _going to talk to Fudge of this. He is in debt to me. I have been filling his coffers with my galleons since the day he acquired the post of Minister. This is the perfect time for him to repay my debt…he'll have to find a way out of this! I am not letting go of the girl this easily. She is going to wed Draco and hand us the Black fortune on a platter. Fudge has to find a way out of this!" thundered Lucius. He said no more as he kept downing glass after glass of Firewhisky.

And half an hour later, Narcissa retreated to her room, knowing that her husband would be too blinded by anger to think practically. It was now up to her to think of a way out of this; it was up to her to salvage their plans. Deep down, she knew that Acquila would be most happy living with Sirius and Andromeda; but this wasn't a time to act like an emotional fool. Narcissa was a daughter of the House of Black; she was brought up by Druella Rosier- Black who had learnt the art of achieving her goals irrespective of the path she had to take to reach them, from her Rosier ancestors. And Narcissa _would_ find a way to betroth Draco to Acquila, no matter what she had to do.

...

It was four in the morning, and most of the cottages around the Tonks' residence were shrouded in darkness. An eerie silence prevailed all over, occasionally punctuated by the call of crickets.

But in Ted Tonks' house, a dim light shone behind the curtains of the windows of a room. And the silence there was intermittently permeated by Andromeda's sobs and Ted's soft voice trying to console her.

Ted Tonks sighed inwardly. He had never seen Andromeda cry this bitterly; not even on the day she was disowned by the Blacks, or during the four painful hours she had spent in the St. Mungo's maternity ward while giving birth to Nymphadora. And it was strange that Andromeda had been crying since the past quarter of an hour over the very boy who had threatened to curse Ted with a flurry of painful spells if he ever made Andromeda cry.

_"You know, Ted, I think you're a great guy. And I'm glad Andy chose you. I prefer having you as a brother-in-law than that gitRabastan," said a young Sirius. Ted could see his Muggle relatives staring curiously at the ten-year old boy, who was dressed in an expensive suit and carried himself with a poise befitting a member of England's royal family .Only when Ted looked at Sirius closely, did he notice his slight discomfiture at being dressed in something other than his usual wizarding robes. Andromeda had told Ted that Sirius had made his Uncle Alphard purchase the Muggle suit especially for the occasion._

_It was Alphard who had brought Sirius to the tiny Church in Ted's native town, where the wedding was to be held, without letting Walburga and Orion know._

_"I'm glad you think of me as a better man than Rabastan," Ted replied dryly, shuddering at the thought of his Andromeda being married to the evil Lestrange._

_"And I'm grateful to you for being here. Droma wanted someone from her family to be there for her. And you and your uncle being here means a great deal to us," Ted said sincerely. _

_"We're glad to be here as well," replied Sirius, gesturing towards Uncle Alphard who was deep in conversation with Ted's dad. _

_"You know, Andy is my favourite cousin," continued Sirius._

_"I know that," smiled Ted. "She's told me a lot about you!"_

_"Has she told you about the curses and spells I learnt from my crazy mother?"_

_Ted gaped at Sirius with a perplexed expression. _

_"Not really. Why?"_

_"Because I'm warning you, if you ever hurt Andy or make her cry, I'll attack you with curses which will have you admitted to St. Mungos for at least a week," replied Sirius, his bright grey eyes suddenly darkening._

_"I love Andy a lot. And anyone who hurts her, even if it's her own husband is going to pay for it," Sirius continued, with a thick tint of warning in his voice which far belied his young age._

_"I'll remember that, "replied Ted, knowing the young Black heir before him wouldn't ever hesitate to put his threat into action._

As Ted reminisced about that day, he wryly wondered what Sirius would say if he knew Droma was shedding tears over Sirius himself.

"Now, now, Droma. Crying over it isn't going to make Sirius talk to you. Why don't you listen to what I have to say?"

She glared at him-the typical Black glare, which more often than not sent a chill down the spine of the person towards whom the glare was directed.

"I know crying isn't going to make it better, Ted. But there isn't anything I can do, is there? He refused to say a single word to me! He hugged Remus! He spoke to Nymphadora and Dumbledore! He even exchanged words with Snape and Narcissa! But he said nothing to me! Nothing at all!"

"Oh, Droma! Try to think of it from Sirius' point of view," replied Ted calmly. "He has been in Azkaban for a decade! With Athena dead, he would have expected _you_ to demand a trial for him. You were the only family he had left who he would have trusted to believe him and ask for a trial. He _does _have reason to be mad at you, dear. And he's a Black! He _is_ going to hold a grudge against you for it, though hopefully, not for long," he added hastily on seeing the dejected expression on his wife's visage.

"And Droma, you told me Sirius said that he thought Remus was the spy. So why would he grudge Remus for not having supported him when Sirius himself doubted Remus? As for Dora, she was just a young kid when Sirius was sentenced to Azkaban. Why would he be angry with her? And the verbal altercations with Narcissa and Snape were meant to happen! Put Sirius, Snape and Narcissa in the same room, and words are bound to be exchanged! And he doesn't really have reason to be angry with Dumbledore. The Potters had told Dumbledore that Sirius was the secret-keeper, so Dumbledore had no reason to believe that Sirius was innocent. Out of all these people, _you_ are the one who was closest to Sirius. So he expected things from you; he expected you to meet him in Azkaban, to believe in his innocence despite the entire world believing in his guilt. He feels let down by you, Droma. Sirius has stood by you…stood by us, through everything. Do you remember him coming for our wedding despite knowing his mother would probably Crucio him for attending it? He was a mere ten-year old. But he _did_ come for the wedding…for you…he lent us money he inherited from your Uncle Alphard, when we found it tough to get jobs. He warded our house when You-Know-Who was at his peak to save us from Death-Eaters; he came over to check on us at least once a week to assure himself that _we_ were well-protected. Put yourself in his place, Droma. Wouldn't you have been angry as well? Wouldn't you have been disappointed?"

"But I am sorry for it, Ted. I am genuinely sorry! If I could go back in time and change things, I would do so in a heartbeat! But I can't! And Siri refuses to even acknowledge that I _am _sorry for what I did…I am really, really sorry, Ted. I know I didn't trust him. I know I should have met him, I should have demanded a trial. Even Bella got a trial though she had been caught red-handed by the Aurors…but I didn't…I let him down, Ted…I know I did…but won't he give me even one chance to…to redeem myself? What if he never talks to me, Ted? I'll lose him all over again…" she sniffled.

"Give him some time, Droma. Believe me, Sirius loves you a lot. He's loved you since he was a ten-year old and threatened to hex me if I ever made you cry! He is just angry, and disappointed. He _will_ talk to you…just give him some time. And I'm saying this not just as your husband, or as Sirius' brother-in-law; but as a Mind-Healer at St. Mungos. Give him time to settle down, Droma. All that's happening is too much to take in, especially for a man who spent a decade surrounded by Dementors. He lost his best friends, he was betrayed by another of his best friends, he lost his wife, thought his daughter was dead; he was imprisoned falsely, for no fault of his. He has probably had every happy thought getting sucked out of him for ten long years. He was on the run from the Dementors for almost a year. And when he's finally acquitted of all charges, he discovered his daughter and Godson lying unconscious in the Hospital wing. It's a lot to deal with for a person, Droma. Just give him some time. When he saw you, he probably thought that he could have avoided all this only if you had believed in him and demanded a trial. Wouldn't you have reacted the same way if you were in his place?"

Andromeda nodded. She knew she was at fault, and Sirius had every reason to snub her. But it still hurt, knowing that Sirius refused to speak a single word with her.

"Now enough of crying, love. Go off to sleep. You've had a long day," he said, making her lie down in the bed and pulling the covers over her reclining body.

"I'm not sleepy, Ted," she replied.

"Don't make me force-feed you some dreamless sleep potion, Droma," he retorted as she rolled her eyes and pulled him close to her; the warmth of his embrace reducing the coldness which had enveloped her heart since Sirius' reaction to her in the Infirmary.

...

Sirius groaned and then opened his eyes slightly; and then groaned again and shut them up at once, wincing as the bright sunrays fell into his eyes. And then suddenly, he froze. He wasn't in the forest! He was lying on a soft bed, in his human form! The next moment, his instinct took over and he turned back into his Animagus form, only to hear a shrill feminine shriek.

It was Madam Pomfrey! And it was then that he remembered the events of the previous night. He was a free man, not an escaped convict hiding from the Dementors in the Forbidden Forest. As the Nurse continued shrieking that there was a Grim in her Infirmary; the dog transformed into a Sirius again.

"Black!" gasped Madam Pomfrey. "You are an Animagus! You scared the life out of me, boy! Now lie down! Lie down! Let me check you up," she said sternly, muttering under her breath about Animagii who scared her and stubborn patients.

"I'm fine, Poppykins," he smirked at her, using the nickname which the Marauders had given her years ago when she treated the cuts and scratches they got after full moon nights.

"You know I hate that name, Black," she retorted, though Sirius could see the corners of her mouth twitch into an unwilling smile. "And you aren't fine! Your nutrition levels are extremely low; you're skin and bone, Black; a far cry from the well-built boy girls used to swoon over…"

"I'm pleased that you remember my well-built body, Poppy," winked Sirius as the Nurse did some diagnostic charms.

"I see you're still the same, Black. I thought you stopped flirting after you married McKinnon," replied Madam Pomfrey, only to flinch as the brightness in Sirius' eyes disappeared at the mention of Athena.

"Your hands and feet are full of scratches and wounds, though I now know where you got them from! Roaming around the Forest as a canine," she continued, hoping to take his attention away from the sorrow over his wife's death.

"I'm alright, Poppy. Nothing you can't mend in a trice. I'm sure you've improved your healing skills over the past decade. And there's nothing that Poppy Pomfrey can't treat," he grinned cheekily.

"Padfoot! You're up!" came Remus' voice from the doorway.

"Good morning, Remmy," said Sirius.

"Good Afternoon," Sirius replied Remus, pointing towards the wizarding clock which hung on the wall.

"Its afternoon!" he gasped, shocked that he had managed to sleep for so long, without nightmares. He muttered a word of thanks to the Nurse for the Dreamless Sleep Potion. It was nice to have a sleep uninterrupted by nightmares of Dementors, and Lily, James and Athena's dead bodies.

"The kids! Have they woken up?" he exclaimed suddenly.

"Well…" said Remus uncertainly, not knowing how Sirius would react when told of the previous day's events. Madam Pomfrey meanwhile, walked away after a meaningful glance at Remus, which plainly told him to handle the matter sensibly, without causing Sirius to get hysterical.

"Mooney!" said Sirius angrily, "why haven't they woken up yet?"

While Remus was busy contemplating how to tell Sirius that his daughter had had the Crutiatus Curse cast upon her, Sirius had already walked up to Acquila's bedside, caressing her hand lovingly.

"What's wrong with them? Remus John Lupin! Answer me!" he roared and Remus flinched.

"Why don't you sit down, Padfoot," said Remus, but Sirius suddenly snatched Remus' wand out of his hands and waved it over Acquila's body and then Harry's, his eyes glinting dangerously as the basic diagnostic charm which was taught to him during his Auror training began showing results.

"Magical exhaustion! Why are they suffering from magical exhaustion!" he growled, throwing Remus' wand back at him.

"Well…Acquila also had the Crutiatus Curse cast on her," he said, bracing himself for Sirius' explosion of anger, but Sirius said nothing; he seemed to be deeply engrossed in a far off memory.

_A pregnant Athena lying on the ground, her wand lying a few meters away from her. And Bellatrix stood a few feet away from her, her black curls swaying wildly, while her eyes glinted in triumph._

_"You Blood-traitor! I am going to destroy you! And the abomination you carry in your womb!" _

_Sirius meanwhile, was busy fighting with Rodolphus Lestrange, whose Sectumsempra had hit him right in his chest, which was bleeding heavily._

_"I want to see you writhing in pain. And I am going to see your filthy kid die in your womb!"_

_Sirius knew what would happen next, as he dodged Rodolphus' Avada Kedavra._

_"Crucio!" screamed Bellatrix, as Athena cradled her swollen belly, as if hoping to shield the child from the pain._

_"Noooo!" shouted Sirius, and but the curse hit his wife and she screamed in pain. _

_"Nooooo!" Sirius shouted again and, he threw the entrail-expelling curse at Rodolphus, who got jumped away in fright, and Sirius threw himself between Athena and the curse Bellatrix threw at her._

_"Siri!" he heard Athena gasp behind him, as he writhed and flailed about in pain, the Crutiatus setting his nerves on fire. He ignored Bellatrix' insane laughter, and put up the strongest Occlumency shield he could muster, trying to numb the effects of the curse in his mind. He got a semblance of control over his mind, while Bellatrix continued cackling, savouring seeing her cousin in pain._

_Ignoring the ache which tortured every nerve in his body, Sirius threw his own wand at Athena; as Bellatrix shouted in anger, putting a stop to the curse._

_"Go back, Athena! Apparate away!" Sirius gasped as Bellatrix advanced towards Athena; while Rodolphus threw another curse at Sirius, which he dodged by a mere centimeter._

_"But, Siri…"_

_"GO!" he growled and she apparated away with a crack._

_An hour later, a bloodied Sirius, who had somehow managed to escape Bellatrix and Rodolphus by dueling with Athena's wand, stumbled into Potter Manor, where he knew Athena would have apparated._

_"Padfoot!" James screamed, on seeing his friend entering, leaving a trail of blood behind him._

_But Sirius swatted James' concerns away._

_"Where's Athena? How's she? How's the child?" he questioned urgently, as black spots started dotting his vision._

_"She's unconscious, Sirius. But she'll be okay. Lily's with her. But we can't say anything about the child as yet," replied James as he led Sirius onto a bed; but a moment later, Sirius fell onto the floor in a swoon and he heard no more._

Sirius remembered that day very well. He remembered Athena being unconscious for four days; he remembered wondering whether the child they had wanted for so long was dead. When Athena had finally woken up, and the unborn child was declared to have been safe, Sirius had wept and promised Athena that he would never ever let the Crutiatus Curse touch either her or their child again.

"Padfoot?" he heard Remus' voice, as if coming from over a long distance.

"SIRIUS!" Remus shouted, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Who cast the curse, Mooney? Who cast the curse?" Sirius asked him furiously, his fists clenching. He would kill the person who hurt his daughter with his very hands.

"Quirrel did. Or rather, Voldemort did," said Remus wryly.

"Vold…it was him wasn't it? It was him who drank the blood of the slain Unicorn!" exclaimed Sirius suddenly.

"Yes," sighed Remus, as he launched into an explanation of all that had happened, since the very beginning.

As Remus finished telling Sirius all that had taken place, including Athena's killing by Peter; he had expected Sirius to lash out at Dumbledore, like Andromeda had done; and rant against Peter. But Sirius said nothing; on the contrary, his face had contorted into a pained expression, a defeated expression which Remus had never seen on his friend's face even in the darkest of times.

"Say something, Padfoot," said the werewolf softly, grasping Sirius' shoulder and inwardly sighing at the change in Sirius' behaviour. The Sirius he knew would have stormed into Dumbledore's office, demanding an explanation for having kept the Stone in a school full of children, for having failed to protect Harry and Acquila from Voldemort. But this Sirius remained silent, his face still scrunched in defeat.

"I failed, Remmy…I failed," he whispered.

"Sirius…" Remus started to protest, but Sirius continued. "I had promised Prongs…promised him that I would take care of Harry as my own son, if something happened to him and Lily. But I led them to their deaths by making them make that bastard the secret-keeper. And I went after the rat, Mooney…I lost my cool. I should have taken Harry back to Athena…and then she wouldn't have died…I would have protected her…and then I wouldn't have been sent to Azkaban…Athena and I would have brought up Harry and Acquila…we would have been a family…and then Dumbledore would have been in Hogwarts, not at the Ministry for the Hearing…Damn! James and Lily wouldn't have died if I hadn't thought of you to have been the spy…this is all my fault, Remus…this is all my fault…James, Lily, Athena…they all died because of me! Voldemort hurt them because of me! If I hadn't been in Azkaban, if I hadn't been on the run, Dumbledore would have saved them…Hell! I would have saved them! I failed them all, Mooney…I failed them all…" he said and cradled his head in his hands; not wanting Remus to see him cry.

Remus Lupin was at a loss of words…and actions. He had never seen Sirius cry, never! Of course, he knew that Sirius had cried a few times, but it was always before James, and then Athena. No matter how close-knit the Marauders were, it was James and Sirius who had always been closest to each other. They were brothers in the true sense of the term. It was James who had consoled Sirius every time he returned to Hogwarts after the vacations with dead-looking eyes. It was James who had consoled Sirius when he had cried on Athena being unconscious for four long days. It was James who had handled Sirius when he had cried at having failed to protect the McKinnons. It had always been James, never Remus. How was he supposed to react?

'Why aren't you here, Prongs?' he thought, looking up at the Heavens.

"Siri…" he started, only to be cut-off by the man in question.

"I am fine, Mooney," came Sirius' rasped voice, as he finally lifted his head up to face his friend; his eyes red-rimmed and watery; the tears having formed trails on his sunken face.

"It wasn't your fault, Sirius. If there's anyone to blame for this, it's Peter and Voldemort…"

"Don't lie, Mooney! It's my fault! I let them all down! I let my quest for revenge take over my sensibility! I should have been a good Godfather and taken Harry back to my house rather than handing him over to Hagrid and going after Peter…"

"SIRIUS!" shouted Remus, "It isn't your fault! Stop taking blame for matters which you aren't to blame for!"

"REMUS!" Sirius shouted back. "I am at fault! You don't understand! I've failed at everything! I've failed everyone! I led them to their deaths…all of them! Prongs! Lily! Athena! I failed to protect Harry…I failed to protect Acquila! My daughter had the Crutiatus Curse cast on her! You know the pain that it causes, don't you? You know the mental scars it leaves! She's just eleven! And Harry! He faced Voldemort again! AGAIN! What if he had died? How would I have faced Prongs? What if Acquila had died? I am a bad father, Mooney…I am even worse than my father was! And I am an even worse Godfather…an even worse Godfather…" he trailed off. But as Remus tried to tell him that he was wrong, that it wasn't Sirius' fault, Sirius finally burst into tears; soundless sobs.

And Remus pulled his fellow Marauder into a hug, letting him let out eleven years of buried guilt; letting him cry his heart out. As Sirius' sobs finally seemed to subside, Remus swore to himself that no matter what happened, he _would _bring his last remaining friend back to how he had been before that fateful Halloween night. He would bring back the old Sirius. He couldn't fill in the void James had left in Sirius' life, nor the one left by Athena. But Remus Lupin would stand by the man- who was now a mere shadow of his earlier exuberant self- till the very end of his life.

"Lupin!" said Madam Pomfrey sternly, coming in with a tray laden more potions for Sirius. "I had warned you not to distress him!"

"I'm alright, Poppy," said Sirius. "How long will it take for the kids to wake up?"

"A couple of days, Black. They are still magically exhausted."

"You're awake, Sirius," came a pleasant voice from the doorway.

"Dumbledore," said Sirius, inclining his head in acknowledgement.

Dumbledore smiled back in reply, and threw a questioning glance towards Remus, asking him whether all went well. Remus sent him an assuring nod in reply, and Dumbledore knew that Remus would tell him of Sirius' reaction later.

Dumbledore looked intently at Sirius, observing his former student. Sirius seemed a bit better than the gaunt, half-dead look he had carried yesterday. But his eyes were red-rimmed, and rather than glaring at Dumbledore in anger, for having failed at keeping Harry and Acquila safe, Sirius was staring at a fixed spot outside the window, thinking deeply over something.

"I hope you are well, Sirius; though I must say you look much better than you did yesterday."

"I am fine, Dumbledore," he replied.

"I have a lot to talk to you, Sirius. But I have presently come here on behalf of Fudge," Dumbledore said dryly.

"Fudge? The git wants to talk to me now? I bet he wants to get back in my good books now that he knows I'm innocent," spat Sirius, thinking of the last time he had seen Fudge, when he had come to tell him of Acquila's survival.

"I think you are right. Cornelius knows that the tide is flowing against him. Once the public knows of how the Ministry put an innocent man in prison for a decade, without granting him a trial, he knows people will start clamouring for his resignation. He has called a Press Conference at the Ministry to announce the details of last night's hearing. He has told me that you need to go to the Ministry for some paperwork, but I am sure he intends to take you along with him for the Press meet. It would serve his purpose- showing that you stand firmly with the Ministry…"

"The idiot even thinks I would want to step into the Ministry? He ordered for the Dementor's kiss on me! Why on earth would I even want to see his face!"

"I told him you will refuse," grinned the Headmaster.

"I am not leaving Hogwarts till the kids wake up," he said pointedly, gesturing towards Harry and Acquila. "And as far as paperwork is concerned, tell him that he can send his cronies here with the documents!"

"I'll tell him what you said. I have to go meet the Flamels after that. But I want to talk to you later, Sirius."

"Okay," replied Sirius, still fuming over Fudge.

"And before I forget, were you the one who tried to save Harry when his Broom was jinxed?" asked Dumbledore; his eyes twinkling when Sirius nodded his affirmation.

"See you soon!" he said and departed, his bright purple robes shimmering in the sunlight as he passed by the windows.

"Enough talk now, Black!" said Madam Pomfrey, bringing in a tray laden with food.

Sirius' eyes looked hungrily at the first glance at edible food he had seen in weeks. The minute the Nurse placed the tray before him, he started wolfing down the food ravenously, as Lupin wondered when was the last time Sirius had had a proper meal.

...

"No, no! He has to come. What am I supposed to answer the press? I told them Sirius would be there for the press conference! Go back to Hogwarts, Dumbledore. Please convince him to come! " cried Fudge, as he turned an impressive shade of puce.

"Don't you think it's better he doesn't come, Cornelius? He may speak against the Ministry for wrongly imprisoning him and I know you wouldn't want that," replied Dumbledore calmly.

"Merlin's beard! Yes! Yes! You are right! I didn't think of that! Better he doesn't come! I'll send a few Aurors to Hogwarts to get his official statement," exclaimed Fudge. "Where is Sirius going to stay, Dumbledore? The Ministry can offer him a good accommodation…as…as an apology for all that he was put through…the public would love that…"

"I think Sirius will prefer being at Hogwarts for some time to come," replied Dumbledore gravely.

"Why? Why Hogwarts? And what about his mental sanity? The last time I met him, he seemed sane, but the Dementors would have had an effect on him, isn't it? We can transfer him to St. Mungos…get him treated by the best Healers! That will show the public how much I care for Black…I'll pay his bills from my own vault…"

"He doesn't want to leave Acquila and Harry; at least till they wake up," Dumbledore interrupted him, knowing he would have to tell the Minister sooner or later, about the children's confrontation with Quirrell.

"What happened to Harry?"

Dumbledore explained the events to Fudge as told to him by Hermione and Ron, leaving out the part about Quirrell being possessed by Voldermort. He didn't think it was the right time to tell Fudge about Voldermort. And he wouldn't have believed him anyway.

"Merlin and Morgana! 'The boy who lived' confronts power-hungry teacher and succeeds in saving the Philospher's stone! It'll make perfect Headlines! It will distract the press from Black fiasco!" exclaimed Fudge, rubbing his hands with glee, a cunning glint in his eyes.

"I don't think you should tell the press, Cornelius. Leaking out information about Sirius' daughter and Godson to the press without his permission, wouldn't endear you to Sirius at all. You don't want to fuel his anger against the Ministry further, do you?"

"Then what am I supposed to do, Dumbledore? The press will accuse the Ministry for Black's wrongful incarceration! They will blame me! You answer their questions, then! You are the one who called for the hearing!" he retorted angrily.

"I am not attending the press conference, Cornelius! I do not believe in publicising this case any further."

"But…but…"

"You did not ask me before calling for the press, Cornelius. You called for the conference, so you handle it. And I have matters of greater importance awaiting me," winked Dumbledore.

"What is more important than the Ministry?"

"Ah! You and I have a very different opinion regarding what falls under the word 'important', Cornelius. Now, let me take your leave," said Dumbledore, and disappeared out of Fudge's office, holding on to the feathers of Fawkes, who had arrived out of nowhere.

...

Amelia Bones stood in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, which was filled with reporters of various wizarding publications. The entire Atrium was buzzing with frenzied discussions about Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. The Ministry had released an official statement regarding the trial, and the reporters were all waiting ardently for the Minister to arrive.

Rita Skeeter, a newbie who was taking great strides at the Daily Prophet, was standing in the first row with her big, green feathered quill and notepad. Amelia was none too fond of the blonde reporter, knowing that she would twist her report on the Press conference the way she wanted to, to attract maximum eye-balls.

Amelia bristled angrily. She hated to be kept waiting, especially by a pompous git like Fudge.

As the crowd of reporters bustled excitedly; Amelia saw the Minister approaching, flanked by Aurors. He looked uneasy and anxious.  
"Let's begin," he said, as he stood next to her and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Why is Sirius Black not present here? We were told he would come." Rita was the first one to speak.

"Umm… he is recovering and catching up with his daughter at Hogwarts. So he wasn't able to make it," said Fudge, with a forced smile.

"Does this mean that the Ministry hasn't offered for Sirius to be taken care of by the best doctors at St. Mungos?" Rita asked, her quill scratching away on the notepad.

"It's... It's not like that… he wants to be at Hogwarts with his daughter. "

"Are the Dementors still at Hogwarts?" asked a slim wizard.

"Of course not!" Fudge said indignantly. "I ordered them to return to Azkaban."

"How did you find Pettigrew?" asked another reporter.

"I ordered for search parties of Aurors to look for him as soon as I got wind of him being alive." Fudge lied with confidence.  
Amelia stared at Fudge, anger clear on her face and she immediately intervened before he could lie further, "Dumbledore found him! And he called for an emergency hearing using his powers as Chief Warlock!"  
"Yes! But he found him on my orders!" persisted Fudge angrily.

"Albus Dumbledore does not take orders from anyone, Mister Fudge; not even from the Minister of Magic," quipped Amelia ,very much aware of Rita staring at them with a sly smile playing on her lips.

"What are the charges for which he was sentenced? It wasn't made clear in the official statement," said a stout witch wearing a feather hat.

"During the hearing, it was found that Peter Pettigrew has the Dark Mark on his left forearm, which confirms that he is a death eater and a follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban for killing thirteen Muggles, murdering Athena Black, and for being an illegal Animagus. And the Order of Merlin that was bestowed upon him posthumously is now revoked."

"Is that how he stayed hidden for so long? Hiding in his Animagus form?" asked a witch.

"Yes, but we cannot divulge his Animagus ..." started Amelia, before she was cut off by Fudge.

"He was staying with the Weasleys! As their pet rat!" he said smugly, as Amelia glared at him.

The reporters gasped in shock.

"But the Weasleys were always on the side of the Light!"

"Did they know it was him?"

"Did they purposely shield him?"

"Arthur Weasley works in the Ministry! Pettigrew took shelter with a Ministry employee for more than a decade!"

The reporters started questioning Amelia and Fudge.

"SILENCE!" boomed Madam Bones' voice.

"The Weasleys are innocent in all of this. They had no clue of their pet rat being Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form," she said.

"But we've heard that the Weasleys' youngest boy is friends with Harry Potter and Acquila Black. Do you think that Pettigrew would have tried to attack them if he wasn't found?" asked Rita Skeeter slyly. "What if Pettigrew harmed the savior of our world! Who would have been responsible for it then? Doesn't the Ministry owe us all? Don't they have a duty to keep the Boy-who-lived safe?" she continued, as the other reporters exclaimed in agreement.

"That…the security…Harry Potter's security…ask that to Dumbledore! That happened in his school!" sputtered Fudge, as Amelia called for the next question.

"Sirius wasn't given a trial before he was sentenced? Who do we blame for that? An innocent man wasn't even given a fair trial, wasn't even given a chance to state his side of the story! You wasted ten years of his life! Years which he could have spent bringing up his only daughter who grew up in a Muggle Orphanage! That is outrageous! The Ministry is supposed to protect our rights, not sentence innocents to Azkaban!" exclaimed another reporter.

"That isn't my fault! I wasn't even in power when the incident took place! Millicent Bagnold was the Minister of Magic! And Barty Crouch was Head of DMLE! If there is anyone to blame for this fiasco, it is them! And we are compensating Mister Black, aren't we? Ten Thousand Galleons for each year of imprisonment! We're taking care of his medical expenses as well! What more do you expect me to do!" said Fudge.

"But…"

"I am not going to take any more questions about who is to blame for this!"

The reporters broke out in uproar, but Amelia silenced them again.

"How did Sirius Black escape?" a witch standing beside Rita Skeeter asked Fudge, when the noise calmed down.

"We do not know. We haven't taken a statement from him as yet. And we won't be divulging how he escaped to the public! We don't want any more breakouts, do we?" Fudge replied curtly.

"What about Acquila Black's guardianship?" came another question.

"Sirius Black is her father. His daughter will obviously stay with him," replied Amelia.

"But would it be right to give him custody? He spent a decade in Azkaban. And with family like Bellatrix Lestrange and Walburga Black, what makes us certain that Sirius Black hasn't gone insane?" smirked Rita Skeeter.

"But he's sane and…he will…" sputtered Fudge, before Madam Bones cut in: "The guardianship of Acquila Black is a private matter of the Black family. Now that her father is a free man, it isn't up to the Ministry or the Wizengamot to decide on her wardship."

"But does that mean that you will let a young girl stay with a possibly mentally-afflicted man?" asked another reporter, and Amelia Bones sighed in annoyance. It was going to be a long day.

_Meanwhile at Hogwarts,_

Sirius sat by Acquila's bed-side, looking at his daughter's unconscious face. His little girl had grown up. He remembered the last time he had seen her on that Halloween night; she had been crying for Harry. She had been so little back then; barely fifteen months old. In the months after Acquila's birth, the Death-Eater attacks had intensified and Sirius used to be away from home for days on end, hot on the trail of the Lestranges. And each time he came home, Acquila would have grown.

_"Athena!" _

_He opened the door to his flat, only to have a wand pointing in his face._

_"What would we have named Acquila if she was a boy?" Athena asked him; sparks shooting out of her wand._

_"Cepheus Charlus Black," Sirius replied, and Athena had flung herself into his arms, holding him tightly, as if she would never let go of him._

_He had come home after three weeks of unsuccessfully pursuing the Lestranges, only to have faced Voldemort in the end._

_"I was so scared, Siri…Mad-Eye sent me a Patronus saying you encountered Voldemort…I thought you were…you…you wouldn't come back…"_

_"Oh Sweetheart! I'll always come back to you…I know you worry…but I have to do my job…" he told her softly, as she sobbed into his chest._

_He sat down on the couch, making her sit on his lap, as she still cried uncontrollably, burying her face into his robes._

_"Athena!" he said gently, as he tried to wipe off her tears; but she refused to look at him._

_"Don't cry, darling," he said, hating to see his wife crying. As she still refused to look at him, he cupped her face with his hands and lifted her face up, making her look into his eyes._

_"I'm sorry…I don't like making you worry about me…but you know I can't help it, Athena…it's what I have to do…"_

_"I know that…and I will never tell you to give up your job…but it hurts, Sirius…It hurts to keep waiting for you day and night, hoping you'll come back in one piece…it hurts that our daughter doesn't even get to see you for days on end…it hurts to even imagine a life without you…what would I do if something happens to you, Sirius? This is the third time you faced Voldemort…what if…what if something happens to you…" she dissolved into a fresh bout of tears._

_"I've already lost everyone…Mum, Dad, Marlene…I don't want to lose you as well…it's pains me everyday…thinking that Acquila would never know her grandparents…her aunt…I don't want her to not know her father as well, Sirius…you're the only family I have…I don't want our daughter growing up without her father…"_

_Sirius had no answer to that, as he let his wife cry her heart out. He couldn't promise her that he would always come back home. He was an Auror and a member of the Order. How could he assure her that he would always come back alive? And what if he did indeed die like the Prewett brothers? Like Marlene? His daughter would grow up remembering nothing at all about him. As he held Athena even tighter, her face buried in the crook of his neck, he didn't even realise that his own eyes were brimming with tears. As Athena looked up at him, on sensing that Sirius was crying; they heard the sound of tiny feet stumbling into the room._

_"Mamma!" said Acquila, as she held her hands out to Athena, wanting her mother to lift her up. Athena stood up and gathered her daughter into her arms and put her into Sirius' waiting arms._

_"She walked!" he gasped as he kissed Acquila's chubby cheek._

_"Yes. She started walking around two weeks ago," Athena replied as she looked at her daughter who was looking curiously at Sirius._

_Acquila tugged at Sirius' hair, looking at him inquisitively all the while._

_"Don't you remember me, darling? I'm your daddy," he said softly._

_But Acquila said nothing, and she looked at Athena instead, wanting to go to her mother._

_That night, as Sirius lay in bed next to his sleeping wife; he couldn't sleep at all. He had missed watching his daughter take her very first steps. He hadn't been there to watch her walk, to catch her when she stumbled. He had missed being present for that moment, just as he had missed hearing her say her first word. His baby was growing up. _

_He had been shocked to see her today. She looked much older than she had, when he had seen her three weeks ago. She had grown a few inches taller, and lost a bit of her baby fat. But what broke his heart, was that she hadn't recognised him. She hadn't known that he was her father. He had expected her to recognise him, to call him 'Daddy' and rush into his arms. But she hadn't even known that it was him- her own father. Her infant mind seemed to have forgotten him. And he had only himself to blame for that. In the past two months, he had been home for hardly four days. Did he really want to work as an Auror? Was it even worth it if it meant that he missed out on all of his daughter's growing up years? Sirius loved his job; he loved the satisfying feeling he got each time he put another Death-Eater in Azkaban, each time he rid the wizarding world of evil; but was it worth being apart from his family? Was it worth Athena spending sleepless nights waiting for him to come home; worth having his daughter not even recognise him as her father?_

_"You're not giving up the job, Sirius," Athena's sleepy voice brought him out of his thoughts._

_"How did you know what I was thinking?" he asked her as he threaded his fingers through her auburn locks, and pulled her closer to him, enveloping her in his arms, ignoring the pain which shot through his limbs- a result of a death-eater's curse._

_"You're my husband, love…I know you too well to not know of what you're thinking. I saw the look in your eyes, when Acquila didn't recognise you…and…and when I was crying…I was just upset, Siri…and scared…but I don't want you to give up doing what you like…You've wanted to be an Auror since years. And I know that you're missing out on Acquila growing…but you're not resigning, Siri…you're not doing something which I know you'll regret," she said as she captured his lips in a deep kiss, which he returned just as passionately._

_An hour later, as Athena's hand rested on his naked chest, over the scar which the latest encounter with Voldemort had given him; Sirius had made a decision._

_He would talk to Mad-Eye and cut down on the time he spent on Auror missions. He wouldn't give up his job, but nor would he stay apart from Athena and Acquila for long. They were his family, the two people he loved the most; and he vowed to himself that there would never be another time when Acquila wouldn't recognise him._

As Sirius recollected that incident, he looked into his now-eleven-year-old daughter's unconscious face; and he felt his heart wrenching in pain. He had missed all of his daughter's childhood. He had missed ten long years of her life. And nothing would bring those years back. His daughter wouldn't ever remember him as the father who tended to her wounds when she had fallen down in the Potters' backyard as she and Harry had tried to climb onto the swings; she wouldn't remember him secretly taking her for a drive on his motorbike one night, after Athena had slept; she wouldn't remember him as the father who had taught her to ride her first toy broomstick. He had lost out on ten years…ten long years. And now, his Acquila had grown up- grown up into a very different girl from the one he had seen ten years ago. His greatest fear as a father had come true. His daughter didn't know him at all. She knew he was her father, but that was it. He had missed out on a father-daughter relationship, missed out on building a bond with his daughter.

And Athena...in the past few months, his quest to get to Harry and Acquila, and to capture Wormtail had consumed him completely. His grief over Athena's death had been pushed to the back of his mind. But as he looked at his daughter who had inherited almost none of her mother's features, the sorrow of his wife's death spread through him like fire. Athena…his Athena was gone. He hadn't even been there during her last moments. Had she thought of him when she died? Did she blame him for her death? If instead of going after that traitorous rat, Sirius would have gone back home, Athena wouldn't have died. He could have saved her. _Sirius_ was to blame for the death of his wife. Athena would never get to see her daughter. Acquila would never get her mother's love. And it was all Sirius' fault. He had let down the one person who had loved him unconditionally; the one person who would have stood by his side no matter what.

"Sirius!" A gruff voice brought Sirius out of his depressing thoughts.

"Mad-Eye!" he exclaimed on spotting the person who had called him; and stood up and extended his hand towards his mentor for a hand-shake. But Moody swatted aside his hand and to Sirius' extreme surprise, he pulled him into a hug. As Mad-Eye finally let go of his former student, he seemed a bit flustered over his sudden emotional behaviour.

"I'm glad to see you, lad," he said gruffly.

"And I'm glad to see that I was always right about you. I knew you were a big old softie beneath your tough exterior!" Sirius smirked; his grey eyes brightening on meeting his mentor after a decade.

"I am no softie, boy!" growled Mad-Eye. "I was just glad to see you after so long; hence, the hug," he said, a rare smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"As you say, Mad-Eye; as you say," said Sirius mischievously.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. I should never have doubted you," said Moody, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "I should have believed you…should have pressed for a trial…"

"You've always been bad at apologies, Mad-Eye," Sirius cut in. "So there isn't any need to say sorry. And frankly, I'm not mad at any of you… Remus, Dumbledore, you… I did expect at least one of you to meet me in Azkaban, to still stand by me, to convince the Ministry for a trial…but I can't keep dwelling on that, can I? I've already wasted a decade of my life in Azkaban… already spent a decade away from friends…dwelling on the past and holding grudges would only mean wasting more time…and I've learnt how precious time is. I would rather spend time with people I love, than begrudge them for deserting me," Sirius smiled at him.

Moody gaped at Sirius. His magical eye which was swiveling at the back of his head, keeping a watch on the doorway, spun around and looked directly at Sirius. The Sirius black standing before Alastor with the empty haunted look in his grey eyes wasn't the boy he had trained in the Auror academy. The Sirius of old would never have forgiven the people who as good as betrayed him when he needed them most. He would have held a grudge against them and made them pay for causing him pain. The current Sirius seemed to have retained his sense of wit, but he wasn't the boy who believed in living life to the fullest, he wasn't the carefree boy Mad-Eye had known and loved. Sirius had grown up; he had matured emotionally. And Moody didn't know whether to be glad that Sirius had grown wiser, or to mourn the loss of the carefree boy which resided within Sirius, who seemed to have been killed in the ten long years that Sirius spent in Azkaban.

"You've grown up, lad," said Moody gruffly.

"I know I look older than my thirty-one years, Mad-Eye! Don't remind me of it," Sirius responded wryly, though both the mentor and his student knew exactly what 'growing up' Moody had referred to.

"Ready for the questioning, Mad-Eye?" came a deep voice from the doorway.

Sirius groaned inwardly. He knew that the Aurors would want to take his statement regarding how he escaped Azkaban, but he wasn't keen on talking of it with the Aurors; especially about his animagus form.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt," said the Auror to Sirius, as he shook Sirius' hand.

"I'm glad to meet you, Mister Black. I must admit, you were the inspiration for me wanting to be an Auror. I had wanted to become an Auror since I had read about the duel you had with You-know-who in Diagon Alley. And I'm extremely happy to see the hero of my younger days, exonerated of all charges against him," said Kingsley in his deep voice.

Sirius stared at Kingsley with open-mouthed astonishment.

"I wish Lily was here," Sirius said in a reminiscent tone, more to himself than to the two men standing before him. "She always thought James and I would only inspire the next generation of pranksters; she would have been glad to see that I seem to have inspired Aurors as well."

"Aye, lad! She would have been proud of you," said Mad-Eye. "Now let's get on with taking your statement!"

"Okay," responded Sirius, who still seemed to be in a world of his own.

"So tell us how you escaped Azkaban, Mister Black," said Kingsley in his deep voice.

"Call me Sirius. Mister Black reminds me of my father; and he was a man I could do well without remembering," said Sirius dryly.

"Alright, Sirius! Now tell us…"

"I will tell you of how I escaped Azkaban, only if I am given an assurance that certain information will be kept within the classified files of the Auror Department. I do not want the information to be revealed to the public."

"Oh come on, laddie!" growled Moody. "The manner of your escape _will_ be withheld from the public. We can't have other prisoners emulating you and escaping from Azkaban, can we?"

"I doubt any other prisoners will be able to escape the way I did," smirked Sirius.

"Still as cocky as you were, eh?" growled Moody.

"Well, someone who managed to achieve the Animagus transformation when he was fifteen does have a right to be cocky, doesn't he, Mad-Eye?" said Sirius slyly.

"Animagus?" exclaimed Kingsley and Moody in unison.

"Oh yes. I am an unregistered Animagus. I take the form of a giant dog, a Grim to be precise."

"Merlin's pants!" Moody let out a string of curses. "Black! You never told me! All the years I trained you, led you in Auror missions; you never once told me you are an Animagus!" he barked angrily.

"Well, Jamie was one as well!" said a guffawing Sirius.

"What! James Potter! But he never told me as well! I can't believe this!" cried Moody, who had led James on Auror missions too.

As Kingsley stared at a laughing Sirius to an outraged Moody in amusement, he finally coughed to attract their attention.

"Can we get on with the statement?"

"Oh yes! I'll make you pay for this, lad! I still can't believe it! Both of you didn't tell me! Though I should have known…Dumbledore told me of Pettigrew being a rat Animagus. If that bastard could have achieved an Animagus transformation, you and James would definitely have achieved it as well," growled Moody.

"The statement, Mad-Eye," said Kingsley pointedly.

"Aye! Get on with it, boy. Tell us how you escaped the Dementors," said Moody to Sirius.

The wide grin on Sirius' face was gradually replaced by a frown, as he seemed to be thinking. He finally said, "In the first few days at Azkaban, the Dementors drew me mad…really mad…all I could think about was painful memories…" he faltered and then continued, gazing at a spot outside the window.

"When Narcissa came to visit Bellatrix, she told me that Athena and Acquila were dead. And I was so…so heart-broken that I transformed into Padfoot… I mean, my Animagus form, to get away from the grief. I then realised, that the Dementors could not sense me in my Dog form, since a dog's thoughts and feelings are much less complicated than a human's. And I realised that the only thing to keep me sane would be to remain in my Dog form. And since I was told that Athena and Acquila were dead, I had nothing to live for except Harry. I kept thinking of my promise to James, I had promised him that I would always be there for Harry if something happened to him or Lily. I kept thinking of that promise, and kept reiterating my innocence in my mind…and since they weren't happy thoughts, the Dementors couldn't suck them out. Then last year, Fudge came to meet me, demanding to know about Acquila…he told me that she was alive and had been living in a Muggle orphanage for the past ten years. And after he left, I knew that I had to escape…I _had_ to meet my daughter…I transformed back into the dog and slid through the bars of the door of my prison cell. I was thin and lanky and could pass through the bars quite easily. I then escaped the island; swam to the shore and well, then you know the rest…" he trailed off.

"What about sending your Patronus to the Ministry?'

"That was thanks to Acquila's pet cat," replied Sirius.

"Cat?" questioned a stunned Kingsley as Sirius launched into an explanation about Nyx and Neville's wand.

"Now can you tell us what happened that Halloween night?" asked Kingsley, and he could see the light in Sirius' eyes vanish suddenly.

"Just tell us what happened after you gave Harry Potter to Rubeus Hagrid. We know what happened before that," he continued, not wanting to upset Sirius by talking of James and Lily's deaths, knowing he would have seen their dead bodies in their house at Godric's Hollow.

"I went looking for Peter…I found him…and I was stupid, Mad-Eye! I was so stupid! All those years of being an Auror…and I let him escape…I wish I had followed what you had taught us…Constant Vigilance…I wasn't vigilant at all! And then I confronted him, he yelled out for the entire street to hear that _I_ betrayed James and Lily…and I was so…so shocked and taken aback, that I was momentarily stunned…and he took that one moment to cut off his his finger and blow apart the street with his wand, killing the Muggles around us and transformed into a rat and escaped through the sewer…and then you know the rest…" he trailed off.

"Why did you never tell us, boy? When the Aurors captured you and put you in Azkaban?" asked Moody. Moody himself hadn't been the one to capture Sirius, and nor had he gone to visit him in Azkaban, not wanting to see the protégé who betrayed all that the Auror department had stood for.

"I wasn't in my senses, Mad-Eye…I was hurt myself by the blasting curse…and I think I went insane…I remember laughing at the irony of it all…the one person who I thought would never have the guts to join Voldemort, turned out to be the spy in our midst…and I was such a fool…I thought of Remus to be the spy…I was the one who suggested to James about making Peter the secret keeper and who would have heard me, Mad-Eye? The Aurors in Azkaban refused to listen to me, they said I won't get a trial…and I kept waiting for Athena to come and meet me…and she…" Sirius faltered, and Mad-Eye placed a hand over his shoulder, urging him to continue.

"And after hearing of Athena and Acquila's death, what did I have to live for? It was all thanks to me, Mad-Eye…had I not suggested Peter…none of this would have happened…Harry would have grown up with Prongs and Lily…Acquila would have grown up with Athena and me…we would probably have had a couple of more kids…Athena always wanted a son, you know…Cepheus Charlus Black…we had even decided the name…" Sirius trailed off again, and said nothing more.

"You aren't to blame for it, lad," said Mad-Eye, patting Sirius' shoulder a bit awkwardly. He had never really been good at consoling people; but he couldn't stand Sirius blaming himself for what had happened, couldn't bear to see the once-infallible man wallowing in grief.

"That's enough! You are distressing my patient!" came Madam Pomfrey's voice.

"It's official Auror business, Poppy," said Moody at the same time as Sirius rolled his eyes and said, "I'm alright, Poppy. And I'm not your patient! I am fine!"

"Of course you are my patient, Black! Look at you! All skin and bones! You need to be given nutrition potions every hour to get your health to an acceptable level. And look at your clothes! Come on! Off you go for a bath!" she said and dragged a protesting Sirius to the bathroom in the Hospital Wing as he groaned in exasperation.

"I am not seventeen, Poppy!" he said.

"But you're behaving like a seventeen-year old! Now off you go!" she said and pushed him into the bathroom, where the elves had already laid fresh robes for him.

"We're leaving, Sirius!" called out Kingsley as Madam Pomfrey glared at Sirius who made to go towards the Aurors.

"Aye, lad! I'll drop in later. And don't you worry, the Animagus information will remain classified," said Moody. "And I hope to see you back in the Auror department soon!"

Sirius grunted in response, knowing he wouldn't really be back at any sort of job any time soon. Being an Auror seemed like a childish dream now. His main priority-he thought, as he lowered himself into the tub full of hot water- was his children.

...

"I hope Acquila and Harry wake up soon," said Hermione at dinner that night, as she sat with Ron and Neville, her face pale with worry.

"Don't worry, Hermione. They will. Madam Pomfrey said they are exhausted and need sleep. That's all. They'll be up and about soon enough," replied Ron, helping himself to some pie.

Hermione had not really wanted to go to the Great Hall for dinner. But Ron, as was his wont, was hungry and had dragged her down to the hall. The Gryffindors had noticed Harry and Acquila missing and had bombarded Hermione and Ron with questions when they found out they were in the Hospital Wing. Worst of the lot were Parvati and Lavender. The two girls had gone to the Hospital Wing to see Acquila and had managed to get a peek at Sirius sitting by Harry's bed, before Madam Pomfrey shooed them away. And the news of Sirius' presence at Hogwarts had spread like wild fire. With Dumbledore having informed the school of Sirius' innocence and Pettigrew's capture at breakfast that morning, the students were clamouring to get a glimpse of the Head of the House of Black.

All Hermione could hear around her was speculation about Sirius and rumors of what had happened the previous night. But Hermione and Ron had been careful not to divulge any information as Dumbledore had told them that it wasn't the right time for the school to know.

But of course, they lived at Hogwarts. And secrets never remained secrets for long. So naturally, the whole school somehow knew of their trapdoor adventure, except for the part about how Quirrell had died. What puzzled Hermione was that she had heard Mrs. Weasley mentioning He-who-must-not-be-named when she was talking of Quirrell . Hermione had even asked Dumbledore about what exactly had transpired after Harry and Acquila went in through the door. But the Headmaster had kindly told her that he would know more of it when he had spoken to Harry and Acquila after they woke up.

Hermione and Ron sat apart from the rest of the Gryffindors, except Neville, to avoid questions. But almost the whole Hall was frequently staring at them and Hermione was pretty sure that even the professors were gossiping about them after she saw a few of them looking their way. It had just been one day and Hermione was already tired of all the attention they were getting. But Ron seemed to be enjoying it. Ron would plunge into telling people of the giant Chess set, when anyone asked them about their adventure and Hermione had to nudge him to remind him that they weren't supposed to tell anyone.

"How much will you eat, Ron? Let's go back to the Common Room. I'm fed up of people staring at me," said Hermione, elbowing Ron.  
"I'm nervous! And I tend to eat more when I'm nervous!" Ron replied, gulping down the last of his pie.

"The Aurors aren't going to cast hexes at you, Ronald! And you're going for the questioning with your entire family! There's nothing to be nervous about!" replied Hermione. The Aurors had called in all the Weasleys for questioning, regarding Pettigrew's presence at their home for ten long years.

Suddenly, Hermione heard a flutter of wings and a moment later saw scores of owls flying into the Great Hall. One brown owl swooped in and landed in front of Hermione. It was the Evening Prophet. Hermione took the paper from its talons and dropped a knut into its small pouch, as the owl flew off with a hoot.

"Why don't we go back to the Common Room and read this?" said Hermione and the two of them walked back to the tower.

**_SIRIUS MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE_**

**_Sirius Black declared innocent after being wrongly imprisoned for ten years in Azkaban. Peter Pettigrew discovered alive, sentenced to Azkaban for life. Who is to blame for this fiasco?_**

**_-Report by Rita Skeeter and Marguerite Woodville_**

_In the press conference held earlier today with the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, Sirius Black has been acquitted of all the charges against him. Black was sentenced to Azkaban for life on the 1st of November, 1981 without even being given a trial. He was charged for killing thirteen Muggles and a wizard, Peter Pettigrew. There was also speculation that he had ordered the killing of his own wife, Athena Black (formerly Mckinnon). _

_All these charges were found to be false at a trial held for Peter Pettigrew, late last night. _

_Peter Pettigrew was said to have been killed by Sirius Black. He was even posthumously granted the Order of Merlin for his efforts in trying to hunt down Sirius Black._

_But Pettigrew- who is an unregistered Animagus- was alive all along, hiding in the house of the Ministry of Magic employee, Arthur Weasley as their pet rat. _

_Minister Fudge stated that Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater, as was made evident by the Dark Mark on his hand. _

_After killing the thirteen Muggles and severing his own finger to fake his own death so that the blame would fall on an innocent Sirius Black; he went to Sirius Black's house and murdered Athena Black with the killing curse. He then hid as a pet rat with the Weasley family. _

_Though Madam Bones stated that the Weasleys were unaware of their pet rat's true identity, it seems that the Weasleys not only lack galleons, but common sense too! How could they not have known that their sons' pet rat was an Animagus? And Peter Pettigrew was Ron Weasley's pet rat! Ron Weasley is the best friend of the savior of our world, Harry Potter! What if Pettigrew had harmed the Boy-who-lived at Hogwarts? Who would have been responsible for death or injury to our orphaned savior?_

_When asked about Harry Potter's security, Minister Fudge stated that Dumbledore should be questioned about it! As our elected representative, isn't Fudge responsible for the care of the boy who saved us all from You-know-who?_

_Fudge and Madam Bones even differed as to how Pettigrew was really caught. Fudge credited his Aurors and stated that he was captured on his orders; while Madam Bones said that Albus Dumbledore caught Pettigrew and called for the impromptu hearing using his powers as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot._

_Does this suggest a rift between the Minister and the DMLE? The Ministry does not seem to be handling this sudden turn of events well at all! _

_When questioned as to who was at fault for not giving Sirus Black a trial and wrongly sentencing him for crimes he did not commit, we were told by the Minister himself that the Ministry in power a decade ago is to be blamed. He specifically mentiones the names of the previous Minister of Magic, Millicent Bagnold, and the former Head of the DMLE and current head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Bartemius Crouch. _

_When contacted, Barty Crouch refused to comment on Fudge's allegations. But it seems that Barty Crouch is at fault! Mister Crouch granted a trial to his son, the infamous Bartemius Crouch Jr. who was sentenced to Azkaban for life with the Lestranges, for torturing the Longbottoms. If Crouch Jr. was given a trial despite being caught red-handed at the scene of crime, why wasn't Sirius Black given a trial when there was hardly any tangible evidence against his so-called crimes? Under the Wizarding Laws, every person accused of a crime has the right to a fair trial, a right to defend himself. So who is to blame for this massive travesty of justice? _

_Nevertheless, if you are wondering where Sirius Black currently is, he is not at the St. Mungos as we had thought him to be, but instead, he is at Hogwarts, being treated by Poppy Pomfrey, the school nurse! Fudge stated that Sirius Black will be given compensation of ten thousand galleons for each year spent in Azkaban and all his medical expenses till he recovers from him time in Azkaban, will be taken care of by the Ministry. But it looks like the Ministry hasn't kept their word! Why else would Sirius Black be treated at a school rather than a professional hospital? _

_The Minister had told us that Sirius Black would be present for the press conference, but he wasn't. Does his absence at the conference show Mister Black's anger towards the Ministry for the entire fiasco? Or did he, as Fudge stated, really want to spend time with his daughter, Acquila Black, at Hogwarts?_

_Another matter that comes to mind, is the custody of Acquila Black. She is currently the legal ward of Narcissa Malfoy (formerly Black). Will Sirius Black be given custody of his daughter immediately? Or, will Mrs. Malfoy still act as her guardian till Sirius recovers? And what of Sirius Black's mental state? After a decade spent with the Dementors, is Mister Black capable of taking care of a child?_

_Too many questions, no answers. All we can do, is wait and watch._

As Ron and Hermione discussed the report, Hermione whispered, "Do you think the Longbottoms mentioned in the report were Neville's parents?"

"I think so," he replied gravely.

...

Andromeda entered the Hospital Wing hesitantly, and then sighed deeply. She was Andromeda Cassiopeia Black-Tonks. Even on the day she had run eloped with Ted, she hadn't felt as apprehensive as she was currently feeling. And the irony was that she was feeling apprehensive to talk to the very person from her family, who had been the closest to her.

_"No matter how scared or nervous she's feeling from within, a lady never lets it show. She holds her head high, and faces the world without betraying even a hint of the inner turmoil that she's going through."_

Her mother Druella's words echoed in her mind. And Andromeda took a deep breath, held her head high, and walked towards her cousin who sat by his Godson's bedside, seemingly deep in thought.

"Sirius?" she said, her dignified façade fading as her cousin's grey eyes looked up into hers.

"Andromeda," he replied, in a rather stiff manner. Andromeda let out a soft sigh. She would have preferred 'Andy', or even the childish 'Andloda' to Sirius' formal 'Andromeda'.

"I am sorry, Sirius," she said, stopping him as he made to reply. "Let me speak, Siri…Please hear me out," she said as he nodded, telling her to proceed.

"I know I have let you down in the worst way possible. And I have no excuses to give you…nothing which will downplay the mistakes I made or make it easier for you to forgive me…I should have believed that you would do no such thing, especially killing all those Muggles. I didn't know of the secret-keeper matter, but I have to admit that even if I did know of it, I would still have behaved the same way…I would still have believed that you betrayed your best friends…I was wrong, Sirius…I thought…I thought you went Bella's way…Cissy, Regulus, Bella…they all followed He-who-must-not-be-named…"

"Voldemort," interjected Sirius pointedly.

"Vo…Voldemort," said Andromeda with a flinch, and then continued," I know I was wrong…I was a fool, Siri…I should have never have thought you capable of killing those Muggles and Peter…and ordering for Athena and Acquila to be killed…I am sorry I failed you…I am sorry I didn't keep up my promise to you…and I know that an apology isn't going to change the past decade, or make good my mistakes…but…I believed you went over to the Dark side, like Cissy, like Reg. I am sorry for it all, Siri…"

"Stop it, Andy!" Sirius cut in, but his tone wasn't angry, on the contrary, he seemed tired.

"I expected you to demand a trial for me. You are the only true family I had. And I knew that if you demanded a trial for me, the Wizengamot would have _had_ to call for a trial, since you are related to me by blood. You were legally within your rights to demand for my case to be heard. But you didn't, Andy…and what hurts me even more than the fact that you didn't even come to meet me once, is that you believed that _I _could be capable of something as macabre as killing thirteen Muggles…"

"I'm sorry, Siri…I…"

"It's alright, Andy…and frankly, I've realised that I can't really blame you for my imprisonment in Azkaban…maybe it was like…like a penance which I had to undergo…"

"What are you saying, Siri? Penance for what?" exclaimed Andromeda.

"For leading James and Lily to their deaths by suggesting Peter as the secret-keeper…for not being able to protect Athena…for not being able to fulfill my duty as a father and a Godfather…"

"No, Siri!" gasped Andromeda and grasped both of Sirius' hands in her own; but he refused to look at her. "It was all my fault, Andy…and I know you'll say what Remus said…that I'm not at fault…but I _am_ indirectly responsible for leading them all to their deaths…"

"Look at me, Sirius," she said and gently put her hands on both sides of his face, making him look up into her eyes; much like she used to do when they were children and Sirius tried to hide his tears at Walburga hurting him for not fulfilling what she desired in her son. Sirius wasn't crying now, but his grey eyes contained a deep, bottomless sorrow which Andromeda had never, ever seen in anyone's eyes.

"None of it is your fault, Sirius. Believe me. Don't blame yourself, dear. Remember you used to tell me of 'survivor's guilt'…the survivors of Death Eaters attacks would blame themselves for surviving and not being able to save their families. But that didn't mean that they _were_ to blame for it. It's the same thing, Sirius. You aren't at fault! You trusted Pettigrew; you didn't mean to harm Lily and James. On the contrary, you suggested Pettigrew as the secret-keeper with the sole intention of keeping James, Lily and Harry safe. You did it to keep them safe, to help them survive…that the plan backfired is not your fault but Pettigrew's and Vo...Voldemort's! Even Athena's death! It's Pettigrew's fault! Not yours! He cast the curse that took her life! I heard him confess it under Veritaserum! He killed her because he wanted to save his hide; wanted to keep the secret of his betrayal safe! Don't blame yourself for the crimes of other people, especially vile ones like that Pettigrew. Please, Siri…"

"But I went after Peter for revenge! I could have taken Harry back home…and Athena wouldn't have…"

"You did what you felt was right. And believe me; if I were in your place, I am sure even I would have gone after Pettigrew to avenge my friends' deaths. Your quest for revenge was disastrous in retrospect, but at that point of time, you did what you felt was right. And you think Athena would have wanted to see you blaming yourself? She wouldn't have, Sirius! She would have wanted you to make up for all the time you've lost by spending it with Harry and Acquila!"

"Harry is going to blame me…"

"Harry doesn't blame you at all! I swear he doesn't! Nor does Acquila! I've spoken to Harry when he stayed at my house…and he blames Pettigrew, not you! He was looking forward for you to be declared innocent, Siri! And Acquila…she kept telling Nymphadora that you would never do anything of that sort, that you wouldn't kill thirteen people…she kept saying that she was convinced that you were innocent, even before Dumbledore realised it! She loves you, Sirius. And so does Harry! Don't blame yourself…please don't," she said, and Sirius sat silent for a long moment before finally nodding, much to Andromeda's relief.

And he then stood up and looked into Andromeda's eyes, before finally pulling her into a hug.

"I am sorry, Siri…I really am…and I promise I'll never leave your side till the end of my life…and this time, I will keep my promise," she whispered before finally breaking down into tears, as she clung onto to the man, who was once the little boy who followed her everywhere and claimed she was the best cousin one could have.

"Tell me about them, Andy," he said, as they finally let go of the embrace and sat down opposite each other.

"Well, Acquila…she looks just like you, but she's more like Athena; except for her stubbornness which I'm sure she has inherited from you. She can be extremely stubborn when she wants to…like when she was angry with Harry…but she's a good soul…and…" Andromeda paused. Had Remus told Sirius of the magical bond between Harry and Acquila. Was this the right time to mention it?

"And?" probed Sirius.

"And Harry…" she said unconvincingly. "He's a good lad. I don't know whether he's like James or Lily since I knew neither of them well. But he's a nice boy, and he loves Acquila. They are the best of friends. Did you know that they knew each other since they were eight?"

" Did they?" gasped Sirius. "They know each other since three years before Hogwarts?"

"Oh yes. They met at the Muggle school where they both studied together. I am glad that Harry's vile Aunt at least had the sense to send him to a proper school…"

"Vile Aunt? Tell me about Harry's life with…what was her name…oh yes! Petunia! I had met her once, when Lily had called us all to meet her parents…Horse-faced, bigoted lady," he snorted.

"Well, I don't know about horse-faced; but well, they have treated Harry worse than some people treat their house- elves…"

"What!" snarled Sirius furiously.

"Yes," sighed Andromeda as she narrated to Sirius, all that Harry had told her about life with the Dursleys; hoping that his anger against Harry's Aunt would wrench his attention away from the depths of despair that he was sinking into.

"I'm going to talk to Dumbledore right now!" said Sirius once Andromeda had told her of Harry's childhood. "Harry is going to stay with me. The blood protection that Petunia offers him doesn't matter! I was a trained Auror! And I'm even ready to stay at Grimmauld Place, if it means Harry is safe! I am his Godfather! And Harry is going to stay with me! No matter what!"

"Siri…" said Andromeda, trying to calm him down.

"Let me go, Andy," he said, as she caught hold of his arm.

"Mister Black! The Headmaster isn't in the Castle! And you've exerted yourself enough today! Lie down! Lie down!" came Madam Pomfrey's stern voice.

"When will he be back?" growled Sirius, as the Nurse made him lie down on his bed.

"Late at night! And you are not talking to him tonight! You've had enough for the day! Lupin, the Aurors and now Mrs. Tonks. No more for the day! Take this potion! Take it!" she said handing him a vial of Dreamless Sleep potion, which he reluctantly gulped down; and though he wouldn't admit it even to himself, he knew he was grateful for the potion. It was nice to have a good night's sleep, bereft of nightmares of Dementors and his dear ones' dead bodies.

...

Draco was putting on his robes in a hurry, as he stifled a yawn and glanced at the clock in his dormitory. Never in his life had he woken up at five am.

But well, he hadn't really been able to sleep well for the past two nights; so waking up early today wasn't really a problem.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror; his pale face seemed paler, and it had the sunken appearance of a boy who was devoid of sleep for the past couple of nights.

But sleep was out of question when his mind kept whirring with worry for Acquila. He had wanted to go visit her since the night he had last seen her, when Sirius Black had made his shocking entry in the Hospital wing.

But he hadn't gone there; and though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, it was due to fear of Acquila's father. Draco remembered the way Sirius Black had looked that night- his gaunt face, in which his blazing grey eyes stood out, his matted hair, and the unconscious commanding manner in which he carried himself, despite having been a prisoner on the run for a year.

And the way Sirius had spoken to Professor Snape! Draco had thought no one was capable of talking to Snape with such fearlessness, with such venom. And when Sirius had turned his ire to Draco, Draco had barely stopped himself from running away from the scary man. Draco had no memory of his Aunt Bellatrix Lestrange; but he had seen the photographs they had clicked of her when they had put her in Azkaban. And Sirius Black had looked just as fearsome, especially to his eleven-year old mind. And Draco didn't like the idea of facing him again.

After leaving the Hospital Wing that night Draco had gone straight to his dormitory and lain awake in his bed for hours, trying to figure out what had happened to Acquila; trying to figure out how Potter and his stupid friends had landed her in trouble this time. Even letters to his father about the matter had gone unanswered. And he had then given up thinking, knowing the news would be out the next morning.

And sure enough, the next day, word had spread throughout the school about Potter and Acquila being unconscious in the Hospital Wing. There was a throng of students crowding the Mudblood and Weasel, at breakfast and lunch and dinner, wanting to know the same thing as he did.

But they weren't telling anyone anything.

By evening as everyone realised that Quirrell was missing, and the rumours had started to spread. Draco heard all kinds of stuff- ranging from Quirrell being a professional killer to him being a vampire; and even more laughably, he had heard a couple of Gryffindor third years saying that Quirrell was a werewolf and had mauled Acquila and Potter. Even a fool would have looked at the calendar to ascertain whether last night was a full moon night; which it wasn't. But Gryffindors were more brawn than brain, weren't they?

Some Hufflepuffs seemed think that Quirrell had kidnapped the four of them; which was another laughable rumour. How could the stuttering and stammering Quirrell who was probably scared of his very own shadow kidnap four kids, including Acquila whose magical power Draco had experienced first hand? Some students thought that it was the other way round, and the four Gryffindors had kidnapped Quirrell on a dare given by the Weasley twins!

The only believable rumour he heard was of Quirrell being a thief wanting to steal something that was hidden on the third floor corridor- which had been out of bounds for the whole year. He had heard this from a group of Gryffindors who were Potter's roommates and he was sure this one was true.

But what worried Draco the most, after Acquila's well-being, was the Daily Prophet report he had read. Acquila might no longer remain his mother's ward as Sirius was free.

And this upset him more than anything else. He had been looking forward to spending time with Acquila away from Potter, and making up with her. He had thought they would get over the argument they had had, and spend the vacations together- playing Quidditch in the Manor's massive Quidditch pitch which Narcissa had ordered to be made especially for Draco. They would have played Chess together, Draco didn't even mind being beaten at Chess by Acquila as long as he got to see her triumphant smile, which made her grey eyes glimmer with happiness.

And now, none of this would happen. She would stay with Sirius Black; and though Draco hated to even think of it, he knew Sirius Black would probably want Potter to live with them as well, since Potter's dad and Sirius were the best of friends.

Damn Potter! And his trouble-making abilities!

And none of this would have happened if Draco hadn't stopped talking to Acquila. If he hadn't been this haughty and arrogant, he would still be talking to her. And he was sure Acquila would have told him before embarking on a dangerous adventure to retrieve whatever was hidden in that room. He would have been able to stop her from going with them. He would have convinced her to stay and then, she would not have been hurt.

She would have been awake and talking to him. And she would have known that he was right when they would have brought an unconscious Potter to the Hospital Wing.

And the distressing part was that Sirius was not fond of Draco at all! What if he forbade Acquila from talking to Draco once she woke up? The mere thought of losing Acquila as a friend scared him.

Damn! He just _had _to go and see Acquila. And five in the morning was the perfect time to go and see Acquila. Sirius Black would probably be fast asleep, and then Draco could have an uninterrupted look at Acquila, and maybe ask her for forgiveness as well? Draco had never apologized to someone, and he knew he would probably be better at apologizing to an unconscious Acquila, than a conscious one.

He left the Slytherin dungeons and stealthily made his way to the Hospital Wing.

As soon as he reached, he opened the door just enough to peep in. He crept up to the bed where Sirius was sleeping, and after making sure that he was indeed asleep, he started walking towards Acquila's bed as noiselessly as he could.

He sat at the foot of her bed and watched her chest rise up and down softly, as she breathed normally. She looked so quaint and serene. Her usually lively face has lost all of its rosy colour and Draco couldn't help blaming himself and also simultaneously glaring at Harry, who was on the adjacent bed laying in a similar state of unconsciousness.

He took Acquila's limp hand in his, and whispered a 'sorry', for not being able to protect her as he'd promised.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" he heard Sirius' thundering voice from behind him and he dropped her hand onto the bed, startled by the malice in his voice.

"Don't you dare touch her again! And get out!" roared Sirius, his eyes glinting with anger.

"I... I just came to see her…I didn't mean any harm…" replied Draco, trying not to flinch at Sirius' scowling face.

"I said _get out_! And if I find you within a foot of my daughter, I swear to Merlin that I'll burn that blonde Malfoy hair off your Slytherin head!"

Draco didn't need telling twice. He ran out of the Hospital Wing, angry tears glistening in his eyes, as he made his way onto the Hogwarts grounds and towards the lake where no one would see him.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked, as she came out to see what the commotion was. "And how are you awake this early, Black? Hadn't you taken the entire vial of Dreamless Sleep Potion last night?"

"Not the entire vial…just some of it…"

"But I saw you drinking it all!"

Sirius just smirked in reply.

"So whom were you screaming at?"

"It was the Malfoy kid!" he replied, as the smirk was replaced by a scowl. "I shooed him off. Don't allow him in till my kids here. I don't want him anywhere near them," he said, walking towards the Harry and Acquila.

"Did you check them today? How are they?"

"I checked them an hour ago. They have improved a little, but they won't wake up till their energy and magic is fully replenished. It will take two more days," she sighed, handing Sirius his nutrition potion which he gulped down in one go.

He sat down next to Acquila, and brushed her black hair off her forehead.

How had things come to this? Athena had promised him that she would always be there for them. But yet, here he was, eleven years later, alone with his unconscious daughter and godson.

He laughed at the irony of the situation as he remembered an incident which had happend years ago on Christmas Day.

_"Come on, James, Sirius! Dinner's ready!" Lily called out to them._

_"Coming, Lily," James replied, as he pulled out Harry, who had crawled under the Christmas tree following Acquila, who was pulled out a moment later by Sirius._

_"This is so exciting; it's Harry and Acquila's first Christmas! I hope they like the presents I got them. This will be their best Christmas ever!" James exclaimed enthusiastically._

_"Mate, I hate to break this to you. But I don't think they'll remember this Christmas when they grow up," said Sirius, and Harry chuckled as if he had understood what his godfather said._

_"See, James. Even Prongslet agrees with me," winked Sirius, as James punched him playfully._

_When they entered the dining room, the table was set and Athena and Lily were talking in hushed tones. Sirius and James put down the kids in the play pen with some toys and went over to the dinner table._

_"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked, as he sat down next to Athena._

_"The Longbottoms," Athena replied. "It would have been nice to have them over."_

_"Yes," sighed Lily. "Neville would have enjoyed playing with Harry and Acquila."_

_"I know, dear. But we've been over this. They are in a secure hideout, as much as we are. We can't risk exposing either of our places," said James as he pulled Lily into a hug._

_"Let's start with dinner; my stomach's growling with hunger," Sirius said, changing the topic._

_"When isn't your stomach growling with hunger, Sirius?" teased Lily._

_Suddenly, they heard Acquila crying, followed by Harry's cries a moment later._

_The four parents rushed to the play pen to see what had happened. It seemed that Acquila had crawled over one of her toys and scratched her knee, and Harry had cried because she was crying. _

_Sirius picked up a crying Acquila and laid her on his lap, as Lily tried to calm Harry._

_"Don't worry, darling. Daddy will make your knee alright again," he cooed at his daughter and picking up his wand._

_"Episky!" Sirius said, pointing to the scratch on Acquila's knee. But nothing happened! He gaped at the wound and tried again, oblivious to the grin which widened on James' face. "Umm… Siri..." Athena called him._

_"Why isn't this working!" grumbled Sirius._

_"Because you are using Acquila's toy wand!" Athena replied, chuckling, as James burst out into laughter, and a baby Harry followed suit on looking at his guffawing father._

_"I'll get back at you for this, Prongs!" Sirius said to James, as Athena took out her own wand and cast the spell and Acquila immediately stopped crying._

_"I thought you were well-known in the Auror Department for keeping your wits about you in crunch situations, honey," Athena smirked a Sirius-like smirk at her husband._

_"I can't think straight when Acquila's in trouble, Athena. But it's alright as long as you are there to salvage the situation," Sirius replied as James rolled his eyes, while Lily silently conjured a mistletoe above the couple._

_"I promise I'll always be there to save the day! Why fear when Athena's here!" Athena said pompously and laughed._

_"Mistletoe__!" smiled Athena pointing to the Mistletoe above their heads, and Sirius pulled Athena into a deep kiss, as James wolf-whistled, while Lily coughed, as the kiss grew more and more intimate._

_"Oi! The next room's empty if you…you know, want to carry on the kiss further," said Lily with a wink, as she took Acquila out of Sirius' arms and Athena blushed a bright red as Sirius finally let go of her._

"What am I going to do without you, Athena?" Sirius mumbled to himself.

Sirius broke out of his thoughts as an owl swooped in through an open window and dropped a letter on his lap and flapped off. Sirius opened it wondering who would send him a letter.

_Dear Mr. Black,_

_I hope you are recovering well. I am glad to hear that you have finally been declared innocent. I always knew that an Auror as skilled and devoted to the Light as you, would never have been guilty of killing thirteen Muggles._

_Congratulations and my best wishes to you and your daughter._

_Damien Derwent._

Damien Derwent. Where had he heard this name? Oh yes! He was the guy who was two years below them at Hogwarts. He used to idolise the Marauders. Sirius snorted. Where was this guy for the past ten years? Now that he had been declared innocent, he could imagine all kinds of people claiming that they had always stood by him.

He crumpled the letter and threw it across the room. He knew he would get more of such letters now that he was free and most importantly, restored as the Head of the Black family.

Damein Derwent's letter was just the first one of many letters Sirius got in the next two hours, as owl after owl fluttered into the Hospital Wing. The owls brought letters from people claiming to have believed in him all along, as well as some from people who thought he had bribed the Ministry to have him declared innocent. Some owls even brought gifts and homemade goodies. Many of them were from the press asking him all kinds of questions.

He scowled as he read the twentieth letter.

_Dear Sirius,_

_Do you remember me? Alia Edgecombe? I'm sure you at least remember the oh-so-many kisses we had shared in the broom cupboard in the corridor on the sixth floor, when we were thirteen._

_I am so happy you are a free man now! How about we meet soon? Madam Puddifoot's would be a perfect place, wouldn't it, love? _

_We could acquaint ourselves with each other, if you know what I mean!_

_Much love and kisses,_

_Alia Edgecombe._

Was she crazy? 'Acquaint ourselves with each other'? Sirius let out a string of curses and threw the letter into the Fireplace, watching it catch fire and get charred gradually.

His scowl deepened as he read the next letter.

_Black,_

_You think you can fool everyone, but you can't fool me! I know you are no more innocent than You-know-who himself! How much did you pay the Wizengamot, you rascal? Ten thousand galleons? Even got Albus Dumbledore in your pocket have you? You are just as Black as your name, and just as vile as your cousin Bellatrix!_

_I hope liars and criminals like you rot in hell!_

This particular one was understandably anonymous.

He sighed and threw it into the fire as well. He had expected this. Of course, it was tough for people to believe that a man who was said to have died years ago was alive and had been convicted of all the crimes that Sirius was accused for. But it still hurt that people thought he had bribed the Wizengamot to declare him innocent. It hurt that people thought he was like the bitch Bellatrix. But well, people could go to hell. All he needed to dwell on now, was the two unconscious children before him.

He opened the next letter.

_I was proud of you when you were captured a decade ago as the Dark Lord's spy. I was happy to know that you had lived up to your family ideals after all, by supporting the Dark Lord. But now you have disgraced the Black family name forever. You have besmirched the name of your noble forefathers. You aren't worthy of carrying the Black name._

Along with being anonymous, this one didn't even have a greeting.

He threw all the letters into a trash bin in the corner of the room, and ignored the incoming owls. He had had enough of reading what people thought of him; and his thoughts shifted to Harry.

His entire being shook with rage as he thought of the horse-faced hag and her Hippogriff-sized husband. Andromeda's account of Harry's childhood kept ringing through his ears.

James and Lily's only son, made to cook and wash cars and mow the lawn, like a house elf! Hell! Even Kreacher was never made to work in the sweltering heat of Summer, though admittedly Walburga Black did prefer the dark interiors of Grimmauld Place, and steered clear of sunlight, as if any kind of light would bring a bit of brightness to her dark soul.

The Dursleys were going to pay big time. Even the hiccoughing draught- which James and Sirius had slipped into the drink of Vernon Dursley's best man, who was supposed to make a toast to the newlywed couple but had ended up unable to speak a single word for the next two hours due to an unending bout of hiccups- would seem tame compared to the plans for vengeance which were going on through Sirius' mind. The hiccoughing draught (which had left the victim almost purple with lack of oxygen due to his continuous frenzied hiccoughing) was James' way of getting back at the man for the relatively innocent act of flirting with Lily.

And Sirius wondered dryly as to how James would have got back at the Dursleys for ill-treating Harry. He snorted as he imagined James transfiguring Petunia permanently into a horse wearing a flowery pink saddle; Vernon Dursley transfigured into a Mountain Troll (including the disgusting smell) and their son transfigured into a fat pink pig. James would probably have transfigured their spic and span House into a smelly old stable for good measure; a fitting punishment for Petunia, who Sirius remembered Lily saying, was a neat freak.

He wouldn't let Harry step even once into that hell-hole. How had nobody bothered to check on Harry even once in the ten years that he stayed with those heartless people? James and Lily had sacrificed their lives to save Harry; and thus, to rid the world of Voldemort. Was this how Wizarding Britain had repaid their sacrifice? Was this how Dumbledore had honoured their memory? By having their only son brought up like a slave?

A sudden surge of whispering and hushed voices drew his attention to the doorway. He groaned as he saw the sight there. As if the letters weren't enough, there was a crowd of students of all ages gathered at the door- some of them pointing at him. Hell! They couldn't even point discreetly! Some of them were staring at the trash bin which was over-flowing with letters.

"What are all of you doing? This is no museum!" An angry voice which Sirius recognised very well sent the students scurrying off into in different directions. "Come on. Go back to your respective classes!"  
Sirius looked at McGonagall entering the Infirmary.

She looked him for a long moment in silence, her eyes taking in his gaunt face and skinny limbs.

"Sirius," she said in an almost-choked voice.

"Minnie!" he said in reply, knowing she hated the pet-name James and he had given her.

"I'm glad to see you, Sirius," she said and to his utter befuddlement, she went up to him and hugged him, and then let him go almost the very next moment, not being used to treating her former students with such informality.

"My, my, Minnie! James won't believe that…" he trailed off, suddenly realising that there was no James to tell him of McGonagall's hug. It was strange how coming back to Hogwarts made him feel like Jamie was still alive.

"I knew I was your favourite student, though you always denied it," he said, hoping she hadn't noticed the shadow of sorrow which he was sure, had flitted across his face when he thought of James.

"Well, you _were_ my favourite student, Black," she said, surprising him by her admission. "Though if you tell that to anyone, I might just transfigure you into a flobberworm," she continued, and Sirius could have sworn that she had probably never smiled this widely at anyone else.

"Sirius," she said again, suddenly morose. "I'm here to say…"

"Sorry," Sirius cut in. McGonagall looked at him, confused.

"I know you here to apologise for not believing that I was innocent and not demanding a trial for me… that's the only thing I've been hearing since I'm free…"

McGonagall just stood silently, not knowing what to say.

"It's okay, Minnie. Now let's talk about something else. I don't like being reminded of the past," Sirius said, turning his head to look at the unconscious kids.

"They will be fine, Sirius. Don't worry," McGonagall assured him.

"You must know them, right? Tell me something about them," he replied, turning back to McGonagall.

"Acquila is a very powerful witch. I've been training her to perform wandless magic. She will make you proud. And Harry! He's strong willed, brave and... he's really a noble boy…rather like Lily…But how about I tell you more about them later? The Headmaster wishes to meet you now. He told me to give you this, to avoid the unnecessary attention when you walk towards his office," she said, handing him a shimmering cloak- the same old invisibility cloak, under which Sirius and James had conducted many a after-curfew excursions to discover the hidden secrets of the magical castle.

He waved a goodbye to McGonagall and she promised to come see him in the evening as he left with the cloak.

Sirius pulled the cloak over himself, feeling like a teenager about to break rules. Only if James was beside him, Sirius would have felt like an eleven year old again. James. Coming back to Hogwarts had brought back many a memory, but most of them pertained to the one man Sirius had loved even more than his brother. James Potter. His heart ached with pain as he thought of James; and he tried to clear his mind of the fog of long-forgotten memories.

He grinned momentarily when he saw a round-faced boy in the corridor, who he was sure, was Alice Longbottom's son, Neville.

He even passed by Snape, somehow controlling the urge to kick him by taking advantage of the invisibility which the cloak provided him with. He finally reached Dumbledore's office and stood before the Gargoyles, which made way for him, somehow having sensed him under the Cloak.

"Ah! Sirius! Have a seat!" exclaimed Dumbledore.

"I'm going to get straight to the point, Dumbledore. Harry is going to stay with me once he wakes up," Sirius said in a calm voice, thought the determination in his voice was undisguised.

"I am sure he can stay with you for part of the holidays. But he will _have_ to stay with his Aunt Petunia's family for at least…"

"My Godson is not even going to step into that hag's house, let alone stay there!" Sirius snarled, waking up a snoozing portrait on the wall.

"Oh my my! Look who's here! The blood-traitor!" said Phineas Nigellus snidely.

"Cut it out, Phineas!" growled Sirius, eyeing his ancestor in utter distaste.

"Don't have any manners, do you, lad? Shouldn't you address me as Grandfather? Or rather Great-Grandfather? Even your daughter addresses me as Grandfather. She's got quite an attitude, that lass of yours! She would have made quite a good Head of House, unlike you…Putting up pictures of skimpily-clad Muggles in your room at Grimmauld Place…what an insult…"

"Enough, old man!" snarled Sirius.

"Whom are you calling old…"

"Keep up with this, and I'll have your Portrait removed from that dusty house!"

"How dare you!"

"_I_ am the Head of House now! And I can do as I wish! So you'd better avoid angering me!"

"You cocky fool! I will…"

"Enough!" said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling at the exchange between the two Blacks.

"I'll deal with you later, _Phineas_," Sirius smirked evilly at the resident of the portrait, who sneered at Sirius.

"Now, Sirius. I know you have a lot of issues to raise, especially my decision of placing Harry with the Dursleys when people like Andromeda would have been ready to take him in. But you need to understand. When Voldemort went to James' house at Godrics' Hollow that day; he first killed James, and then went up the stairs to kill Harry. But Lily stood before Harry to save his life; thus giving him a blood protection. Listen to me," he said as he saw Sirius about to interrupt him.

"As you know, Lily's parents passed away just months after her wedding, and thus, Lily's only surviving relative is Petunia. As long as Harry considers Privet Drive his home, Voldemort cannot hurt him there. It was the safest place! And my main aim was to keep the child safe…"

"And my main aim is to give Harry not only a secure home, but one where he is treated with love and care, Dumbledore!" Sirius said heatedly. "Do you know how they treat him? Do you know that his room was a cupboard under the stairs for the first nine years that he stayed with the Dursleys? Do you know he was made to do chores like a bloody House-elf!"

"I know all of that, Sirius," said Dumbledore gravely, his voice tinted with guilt. "Minerva had told me that she thought the Dursleys incapable of giving Harry a happy upbringing, but I thought that for love of Lily, Petunia would treat Harry like her own. Petunia even has a son who is just a month older than Harry! I thought that being a mother herself, she would take care of him…"

"And you made no effort even once in the past decade to go and check on Harry, to ensure that he is indeed being brought up well?"

Dumbledore's silence made his reply clear.

"I was wrong, Sirius- an old man's mistake. But you need to understand, that staying with Petunia is the best way to keep Harry safe, especially with Voldemort's re-emergence."

"HE IS NOT GOING TO STAY THERE!" shouted Sirius, and Phineas Nigellus laughed in amusement.

"Sweet Slytherin! Strange how all the surviving Blacks seem to enjoy yelling at Albus. Acquila, then the blood-traitor Andromeda, and now you. Though I must say, I enjoyed Acquila's display of anger much better than yours, Sirius. You should have seen the office shaking, as if it was an earthqua…"

"Phineas!" said Dumbledore warningly, and the former Headmaster said no more, and then winced in pain as the lady in the portrait next to his, hit him on the shoulder with her cane, and hissed at him to shut up.

"Look, Dumbledore. I have neither the inclination, not the strength to yell at you," said Sirius, surprising Dumbledore. Sirius Black was never one to admit that he was tired or lacked strength.

Sirius continued, "I have lived sixteen years of my life, in a house where everyone hated me. I grew up without getting any kind of love from anyone, except Andy. I grew up hating my family; I used to get jealous when I saw other parents kissing their children goodbye at the Station… and if it wasn't for Athena, Jamie and Remus and…" Sirius faltered, and Dumbledore knew that he was about to mention Peter.

"What I mean to say, is that I know how it is to grow up without love. And I am not going to let my Godson live a life like I did. He has already suffered ten years of ill-treatment at the Dursleys' house. And I am not going to let him suffer any further. I wasn't here for Harry when he needed me. And now that I am a free man, I am going to do everything that I would have done if I wasn't in Azkaban for the past decade. Prongs' son is not going to live in that place; and I am not asking you for permission. I am _telling_ you that he is going to stay with me! He has already told Andy that he wants to stay with her. And if he wishes to stay with her rather than me, then even that is acceptable to me. He will live with people who love him, whether it's me or Andy. And you can do nothing about this, Dumbledore. I am his legal guardian, his godfather. James and Lily wanted me to take care of Harry if something happened to them. I had promised them that I will love him like I love Acquila. And that's what I am going to do now," he said firmly.

"And what about his safety, Sirius?" asked Dumbledore softly.

"I have sent a letter to Gringotts. They will tell me of all the properties that I own as the Head of House. I will live at one of them with Harry and Acquila. And as I am sure you know, no one can harm a person who carries Black blood in his veins, in the premises of a property belonging to the House of Black…"

"He's right, Albus. I was the one who charmed the Black residences to keep away people with intent to harm a Black," put in Phineas and Sirius grudgingly nodded at him in acknowledgement.

"And as you know, Dumbledore, Harry is a descendant of the Blacks through James' mother, Dorea. So, he will be safe. I will keep him safe."

"I can't risk Harry's life, Sirius. He is of utmost importance in the fight against Voldemort," said Dumbledore and Sirius knew he was referring to the Prophecy.

"And I can't risk Harry's life because I love him like I would have loved a son of my own! I give you my word- no harm will come to Harry when he's with me. You can come and check the wards in the house where we chose to stay, if you wish to make certain of his safety. And though I haven't used a wand in ages, I am sure if danger arises, I can defend Harry much better than you can," he snorted pointedly.

"You're referring to the night Harry had detention, aren't you? You saved him from Quirrell, and Voldemort," said Dumbledore.

"Yes, I am," replied Sirius and stopped Dumbledore as he made to speak on that issue.

"Andy told me what you said about it. No use repeating the same," said Sirius.

"Think about it again, Sirius. Privet Drive offers…"

"My decision is final, Dumbledore," cut in Sirius, and Dumbledore nodded. Sirius was right. Harry did deserve to live with people who loved him.

"And now, Dumbledore, how about we talk of Acquila," said Sirius.

"I am sure Andromeda told you of why I made her live in an orphanage," replied Dumbledore.

"She did, and I am thankful to you for ensuring that my mad relatives couldn't get her hands on my daughter. But why a Muggle Orphanage, Dumbledore? You made such a massive decision regarding my daughter's life without even…"

"I did what I thought was best for the girl. And she had been brought up lovingly by Mrs. Smith, a teacher at the Orphanage."

"Yes," replied Sirius grudgingly. "I must admit that Acquila seems to have a better childhood than Harry, despite living in an orphanage. But no more decisions about either of my children without taking me or Andy or Remus into confidence," said Sirius firmly and Dumbledore nodded, inwardly glad that Sirius considered Harry as much as his child as Acquila was.

"Where do you think Voldemort is now?" asked Sirius suddenly. "Have you told Harry of the prophecy?"

"I am still in the process of determining where Voldemort is. And no, I haven't told him of the prophecy, and I implore you not to tell him of it. Let him enjoy his childhood like a child of his age should, Sirius. If you tell him of the prophecy, it will be like a sword dangling over his head. Let him live his life, and you can tell him when the right time arises."

"I will think over it," replied Sirius, resolving to discuss the matter with Remus, who knew of the prophecy as well.

"Now why don't we talk of your time on the past few months, Sirius?" said Dumbledore.

As Sirius got up to depart from Dumbledore's office a couple of hours later, he stopped as Phineas beckoned to him.

"Yes, _Phineas_?" said Sirius.

"Black Manor," was all that Phineas said and Sirius left for the Hospital Wing.

As he stepped into the room, he saw a few more letters lying on the table. He picked up the one on top.

_Dear Mister Black,_

_I am not writing to you in my capacity as the Minister of Magic, but as a well-wisher. _

_I am very pleased that you have been acquitted of all the crimes you were falsely accused of. It's not my place to apologise for the injustice meted out to you by the Minister who was previously in office, but I am sorry for it nevertheless._

_I write to you, so that you know that I have only your best interest at heart and I extend my support to you for anything you may require. _

_And I hope I will have the support of the House of Black.  
You need not worry about the custody of either your daughter, Acquila Black or your Godson, Harry Potter. You are legally their guardian.  
I wish you a quick recovery and a happy reunion with your daughter and Godson. _

_And I hope that we can meet at a place and time of your convenience. I am eagerly awaiting your reply._

_Cornelius Fudge_

Sirius snorted and threw that letter into the trash can as well, and sat beside his daughter's bedside again, waiting for Remus, and the reply from Gringotts to come.

...

Later that night, Narcissa sat in her room at Malfoy Manor, gazing at a photograph in her hand. She wasn't really supposed to have the photograph with her. It was to be destroyed. Her mother had burnt up all the photographs which contained Andromeda, the day she knew of Andromeda's elopement with the Mudblood. But Narcissa had somehow managed to salvage this one. The photograph contained five cousins-all bound by the blood of the Blacks.

Bellatrix stood in the centre; her black curls swaying slightly, her face had a haughty expression. And her eyes glinted malevolently. Even at the age of thirteen, she looked quite fearsome. Narcissa stood beside her. And though the black-and-white photograph didn't show it, Narcissa knew she was dressed in silk robes of a pale blue colour, which made the minute specs of blue in her grey eyes stand out. The expression on her face mirrored that of Bellatrix's, but she didn't look scary. On the contrary, she looked rather beautiful. In Narcissa's arms was a two-year old Regulus, dressed in rich black robes. He was a cute little boy, with his black hair and chubby cheeks. But he wasn't looking at the camera. Instead, he was looking at the almost-identical boy who was next to Bellatrix in Andromeda's arms. Sirius was the only one who was smiling in the camera. Regulus took a look at Sirius who smiled cheekily at the camera, and then grinned an identical smile himself.

Narcissa sighed as she thought of Regulus. He used to idolise Sirius even at the young age of two. They were like two peas in a pod, till Sirius went to Hogwarts and got sorted into Gryffindor and met James Potter. After that year, the rift between the two Black brothers had widened, never to be repaired till Regulus' death.

Narcissa then looked at Andromeda who stood holding Sirius. The two were always inseparable, despite the gap between their ages. Narcissa remembered being jealous of Andromeda, for Sirius had never liked Narcissa like he liked Andromeda. And Narcissa wasn't used to being second- best.

The five cousins stood motionless- the two boys grinning and the three girls staring haughtily; when suddenly, the Sirius in the photograph said something and Andromeda burst out laughing. Bellatrix glared at her; knowing that they had to maintain a dignified pose befitting the Black family for the photograph; but as Sirius- who had been witty even at that young age- said something else, an unwilling smile tugged at the edge of Bella's lips which suddenly turned into full-blown laughter- an emotion which was replicated by Narcissa and Andromeda. And the five cousins stood laughing at the camera- identical Black laughs.

Five Blacks who were supposed to bring glory to their family. She remembered Arcturus and Pollux Black gleefuly praising the five cousins; confident that they would take the House of Black to even greater heights.

But what had happened? Where were the five of them today?

Regulus, on whom had hinged all the hopes of their family, was dead. Dead before he was even out of his teens. Dead without even a body to bury. Dead with no one knowing how he died. Narcissa was sure Lucius knew about how Regulus died, why he was killed. But he had refused to tell her about his death.

Then there was Bellatrix-the apple of her parents' eyes. Druella Black had always despaired that she couldn't provide the Black family with a male heir. But Narcissa's father always assured his wife, that Bellatrix was as good as any son. But all that Bellatrix had contributed to the Black legacy, was being the first ever Black to be sent to Azkaban. Of course, there had been Blacks who deserved a life term in Azkaban, but they had been prudent enough to never have left proof or witnesses to link them to the crimes, unlike Bella who had been caught red-handed.

Then there was Narcissa- the beauty of the family with her delicate features and blonde hair. She had heard questions being raised about her paternity, thanks to her blonde hair which was almost non-existent in the Black family. But Narcissa preferred thinking that she had got the blonde hair from the Rosier side of the family, than thinking of herself as a product of her mother's infidelity. Narcissa had done what her parents had expected of her-married a pure-blood, and given him an heir. She hadn't married for love, but over the years, she and Lucius had learnt to love each other. But was she really happy? Of course, she had a son she loved and cherished; she was in the highest circles of pure-blood society; but was she really happy with where she was?

It was Andromeda who was happy. Andromeda, who had the courage to go against her entire family and marry a Muggle-born for love. Andromeda had been betrothed to Rabastan Lestrange. But she had eloped with the Hufflepuff, leaving the Blacks to deal with the enraged Lestranges. It was her parents who had been the laughing stock of wizarding society.

But today, it was Andromeda who was probably the happiest of them all. She had achieved her dream of becoming a Healer- something she could never have done if she had married a pure-blood. She had a daughter who was a Metamorphmagus-the only one to have been born in the past two decades. And she had a husband who had married her not for her wealth, or title or lineage; but because he loved Andromeda for what she was. Narcissa had seen the three of them in Diagon Alley on various occasions. The girl, whose hair kept changing colour frequently; and her parents. Despite two decades of being married to Andromeda, Ted Tonks still looked at her as if they were still newly-weds. Whenever his eyes fell upon his wife, they would brighten up immediately, and look at her with such longing and love in his eyes, which Narcissa had seen in just one other couple- Sirius and Athena Black.

It was strange how it had been the two 'white sheep' of the Black family who had salvaged the family name in Wizarding Britain; the non-pure-blood society. Andromeda Tonks- one of the best healers at St. Mungos, and Sirius Black- one of the best-ever Aurors in Britain. Of course, with news of Sirius' imprisonment ten years ago, his popularity had gone downhill. But with him being acquitted of all charges, his popularity had risen to great heights in a matter of hours. The Daily Prophet had written pages full of praise for the erstwhile Auror, lauding his encounters with the Dark Lord, marveling the number of DeathEaters who were languishing in Azkaban due to him.

And now, it would be Sirius and Andromeda, who would be back together again- the two cousins who had been the favourites of each other since the time Sirius was a mere baby. The two Blacks who had disgraced the family tree would be back together again with Acquila and the Hufflepuffs; probably living at Andromeda's house or at one of the many Black family properties which Sirius owned. And Narcissa would be left all alone again, alienated by the two of them, alienated by the only remaining Blacks, Narcissa would be left alone, just as she had been for the past decade. Sirius would probably forbid Acquila from meeting Draco. She knew Sirius would never stand his daughter being friends with the son of the man who killed his wife's family.

All was lost.

All was lost, unless…Unless she went back to Sirius, showing genuine regret for siding with her husband. Sirius knew that Narcissa had never been a Death-Eater, she had never taken the Dark Mark. If she did try to get back on good terms with Sirius, would he perhaps let Draco and Acquila remain friends. She knew that a betrothal was now out of question. Sirius Orion Black would never let his daughter marry for reasons other than love.

"Mistress! Master Lucius is calling for you!" Dobby's high-pitched voice brought her out of her thoughts. She put the photograph away and descended the stairs- or rather glided down them like her Mother had taught her and her sisters- only to see her husband pacing around the drawing room in a towering rage.

"Would you believe the audacity of that fool?" he snarled as soon as his eyes fell upon Narcissa. "Fudge refused to help me in securing Acquila's wardship! He said he's scared of the public backlash against him for not having given Black a trial; said he's getting owls demanding his resignation for having out an innocent in prison for a decade. He said he will not do anything which will invite more public ire against him! The fool is scared of losing his post. I even threatened to stop the funds which I pour into his coffers, but he said he will not risk losing his position over public anger he'll face if he tries to keep a war hero's child away from him. War hero! Sirius Black, a war hero!" he spat furiously.

"Dobby!" said Narcissa, and Dobby came with a glass of elf-made wine, which she had already laced with a vial of calming draught- having predicted that Lucius would come home in a rage.

As Lucius gulped down the wine, he continued ranting about Fudge, but gradually calmed down as the potion began taking effect.

"Laced my drink with calming draught, wife?" he asked her suddenly.

She hesitated only briefly before replying, "Yes, Lucius. Having lived with you for so long, I have observed that you tend to think more clearly when you aren't enraged."

He smirked at her- the same smirk which their son had inherited- and then drew her close for a kiss; a rare display of emotion.

"I am glad to have married you, Cissy. You aren't just a pretty face, you have brains as well," he said as he finally let go of her.

"So, I presume you have thought of a plan," he said, as he gazed at her pale face.

"I think we should make amends with Sirius," she said, a tad hesitantly.

"What!" Lucius exclaimed, outraged.

"Listen to what I'm saying first," she said, before he could flare up.

"Speak," he commanded, his eyes glinting coldly.

"We have nothing to gain by opposing Sirius, or by trying to appeal for Acquila's wardship. You know the laws well, Lucius. He is entitled to her guardianship by virtue of being her father; and even if we raise the point of his mental state, I am sure he will be proven to be of sane mind. And you know Sirius very well. He will never let go of his daughter. And all we'll gain if we file an appeal in the Wizengamot, is public ire, and defeat…"

"So you want me to go and mend bridges with Black? Ask forgiveness for having killed his wife's blood-traitor family?" he thundered.

"No, Lucius. And even if you do so, I am sure Sirius will never forgive you for it. All I am saying, is that I am going to visit Sirius and try to convince him that my loyalties lay with him and not the Dark Lord…"

"How dare you!"

"What have we to gain by still supporting the Dark Lord, Lucius? He is no more! And you got away by the skin of your teeth in the cases the Ministry had filed against you, or you would have been in Azkaban now, in a cell adjacent to Bella's," she said pointedly.

"We have everything to gain by standing by Sirius," she continued, before Lucius could interrupt her. "He is the Head of the Blacks, and there's nothing we can do to stop it. I know you want to try to get him killed, but if you do so, it will be quite obvious that you ordered for his death, as we are the only ones who will profit from Sirius' demise. A betrothal between Acquila and Draco is out of question. Sirius never believed in marriages which weren't for love. And he _will_ try to stop Acquila from keeping contact with Draco. But if I convince him that I have turned over a new leaf, and am loyal to him, he may agree to let Draco and Acquila maintain their friendship. And you know that Acquila cares for Draco; with time, she may want to marry him for love, and the Black fortune will be ours anyway, after Sirius passes away…"

"And you think Black won't see through your façade? He knows you in and out, Narcissa. He's a Black, albeit a disowned one. But I am sure he will be able to see through you and discern your true motives…"

"But he's a Gryffindor. A trusting Gryffindor. And he has placed his trust in the wrong person earlier," she said referring to Pettigrew.

"Which is exactly why he won't trust the wrong person again! He is a Gryffindor, as you pointed out; and an Auror as well. And Aurors don't repeat their mistakes! We can get the case in our favour if galleons exchange hands…"

"You think Sirius doesn't have the money to bribe people, Lucius?" Narcissa retorted. "And who do you think the people who refuse to be bribed will support? The father of the girl, who has been through so many hardships, who has been kept away from his daughter for a decade? Or a man, whom people know has vested interests in wanting to retain the girl's guardianship, and whom many people still suspect of being a Death-Eater? If we lose the appeal, which we certainly will- we would have got into Sirius' bad books forever. He will never ever allow Acquila to even talk to Draco or me, let alone get them married…"

"I will think of it," Lucius interrupted her.

"But, you know what I am saying is making sense…"

"I said I will think of it!" he cut her off with an air of finality, and she said no more as he walked up the staircase to his room.

Narcissa sat down by the window, staring at the albino peacocks which pranced about, by the fountain. She knew that this was the right thing to do. And deep down, she knew that she _wanted_ to make amends with the last two of the five Black cousins who remained. She may be a Malfoy now, but first and foremost, she was a Black. And Blacks stuck together, no matter what their personal differences were, unless they were disowned. And though Sirius and Andromeda were the disowned Blacks, Narcissa knew that unless she took definite steps towards being back in his good graces, it would be she and Draco who would be disowned by Sirius, who was now the Head of House of Black.

...

_The next morning,_

Sirius sighed. This was the third day that he was in the Hospital Wing, waiting for Harry and Acquila to wake up. And though Madam Pomfrey kept telling him that they were fine and that it was just a matter of time before they woke up, Sirius was starting to worry. Andromeda, Ted, Remus, Moody and McGonagall had all met him the previous day, assuring him that they kids would wake up soon; but he couldn't shake off the worry that was creeping deeper and deeper into his mind.

He sat by the window in the Infirmary, gazing at the grounds of the Castle, where he saw four boys sitting by the Great Lake, one of them running his hands through his shaggy black hair; reminding Sirius of another day, years ago where four boys sat at the same spot, with James trying to impress Lily, while Sirius cast frequent glances at Athena who sat a little distance away from them, with her Ravenclaw friends.

They were the Marauders-brothers till the end. And today, one of them was dead, killed due to the betrayal of another Marauder. Another one had spent the past decade in loneliness, mourning the loss of his friends alone, being shunned by wizarding society for being a werewolf. And he, Sirius...well, the less said about his life in the past decade, the better.

How had things changed so drastically? It was strange how a betrayal by one single person, had destroyed the lives of two women, three men, and two children.

The clearing of a throat behind him, led to Sirius wrenching his eyes from the four boys by the lake, and turning them onto the aged wizard who stood before him.

"Yes?" said Sirius questioningly, trying to recollect where he had seen the wizard.

"Mister Black, I am Antiqius Blishwick, Head of the Auror Department," said the wizard, smiling unsurely at Sirius.

Sirius nodded formally. So this was the man who had replaced Moody as Head of the Aurors, after Moody decided to hang his boots and concentrate only on training Aurors. Sirius remembered seeing the man a couple of times during his Auror days.

"Yes, Mister Blishwick," said Sirius, wondering why the Auror Head was here, since the questioning was already over.

"Firstly, I extend to you, heartfelt apologies from my Department, for having failed to stand by one of our own men," he replied and Sirius had a sudden urge to roll his eyes.

He was fed up of people apologising. A 'sorry' did nothing. It couldn't change the past.

"Apology accepted," said Sirius coldly.

"Thank you, Mister Black. Now, I have something which belongs to you," said Blishwick and reached into the pocket of his Auror robes.

And it was then that Sirius realised why the Auror Head was here- to give back one of Sirius' most precious possessions, which he had had since the age of eleven.

"Your wand, Mister Black," said Blishwick, handing over a glass case in which lay Sirius' wand.

As he took the case and opened it, Sirius could have sworn that he saw the wand twitch, wanting to be reunited with the Wizard it had chosen. And as Sirius extended his slightly trembling hand towards it, the wand jumped into his hand, just like it had done the very first time Ollivander had presented it to him. And the moment his fingers and palm came in contact with his wand, Sirius felt a sudden surge of magic flow through his entire being. After more than a decade, Sirius felt magically complete; and golden sparks shot out of his thestral hair wand, as if the wand was celebrating its joy of finally being with its owner.

"Wingardium Leviosa" whispered Sirius, and the vial of potion kept by his bedside levitated upwards, before landing down gradually as Sirius directed it.

"Thank you, Mister Blishwick," said Sirius.

"It was my pleasure, Mister Black. I take my leave now. And I hope we will see back in the Auror force soon."

Sirius said nothing in reply, just nodded his head in acknowledgement, and Blishwick departed, leaving Sirius gazing reverently at his wand.

A few hours later, Sirius sat next to Harry's bed in the Infirmary reading through the letters which people had sent him. An irate Poppy had finally managed to convince Flitwick to charm the Hospital Wing to repel owls. Any owl carrying a letter for Sirius would be directed to Remus' rented room in Hogsmeade, where Remus, who had agreed to sort the letters, would keep the important ones and discard the ones which weren't. He was currently reading a letter from the Head of the Greengrass Family, wanting Sirius to meet his sister, who was of the same age of Sirius. He sighed in annoyance, and put aside the letter. He knew what Mister Greengress was hinting at, but Sirius would never ever love another woman like he had loved Athena. Athena was the love of his life, the mother of his only daughter; and nobody could replace her in his life.

He shifted his attention to the cheers of students coming from the Quidditch stadium where the Ravenclaw Gryffindor match was in progress. The Weasley twins- who had somehow managed to sneak past Dumbledore's enchantments, into the Hospital Wing, with a toilet seat, which they seemed to think, would cheer up Harry and Acquila- had been friendly with Sirius and had ranted that they were sure that Gryffindor would lose the match in the absence of Harry as their seeker.

His chain of thoughts was broken by the sound of almost-soundless footsteps, as if whosoever was walking was trying to glide rather than walk, thus making hardly any noise.

Sirius sighed. He knew that there were only three girls who were taught to walk with such poise, by their mother, Druella.

"Cousin," said Narcissa, standing before Sirius.

"I thought I was no cousin of yours, since my dear old mother blasted me off the family tapestry," retorted Sirius dryly, not even offering Narcissa a seat.

"Aunt Walburga may have disowned you, but you are still a Black, aren't you? The same blood flows through both your veins and mine," she retorted, taking a seat opposite Sirius.

"I thought you were brought up with manners, Mrs. Malfoy. Isn't sitting when you aren't offered to sit, a violation in Aunt Druella's rules of how her darling daughters should behave?" he sneered.

"Don't do this, Sirius. Can't we have a civil conversation?" she said, and Sirius detected a small sense of hurt in her voice which he ignored.

"What would your husband say to this, Cissy?" hissed Sirius. "His dear wife wanting a civil conversation with a blood traitor..."

"My husband may say a lot of things. But I do not necessarily agree with him," she interrupted him.

"But you do end up going along with what Lucius says, don't you? Like following Voldemort? Ah! Flinching at the mention of your dear master, Cissy? No wonder I was the only one sorted into Gryffindor. I'm not like you; scared of a mere name," he smirked devilishly.

"The Dark Lord wasn't my master, but my husband's! And..."

"Cut out the drama, Narcissa," interjected Sirius. "Just get on with the reason for your presence here. Come here to check on my daughter's heath, have you? Or did your cowardly brat go running to Mummy about how I sent him away? Or Ah! Come to threaten me that you'll appeal for Acquila's guardianship citing your doubt over my capability to take care of a child?" he asked, his eyes glinting with anger.

"You're wrong on all three counts, Sirius," she replied. "I'm not here for Acquila, as I know she'll take time to wake up. And Draco did tell me of your discourteous behaviour with him, but that was to be expected. And I have no intention of trying to take Acquila away from you..."

"Because you know you can't! My own father taught you Wizarding Laws, and though he was a pathetic parent, he would have made an excellent lawyer. So you know you would never have won..."

Narcissa cut him off: "No, cousin. I do not want to take Acquila from you, because I am a parent like you are. And I know you've suffered a decade of being away from her. I wouldn't want to give you more pain. And nor do I want to distress Acquila by putting her through another Wizengamot hearing. I do care for her, Sirius. The one day she stayed at my Manor, was one of the more happy days of my married life. I have always wanted a daughter..."

"Why are you here then?" he interrupted her.

"To mend bridges. To make amends with you," she replied, as Sirius dissolved into a mirthless laugh at her words.

"Make amends? Isn't it a little too late for you to be wanting to put things right between us?" he asked her harshly.

"I was never like you or Andromeda. I never had the courage to defy my family like you both did; neither my parents or Lucius, even though I knew they weren't right. I supported Lucius because he was my husband, though I didn't wholeheartedly agree with the manner he tried to exercise pure-blood supremacy. But now I'm older, Sirius; I'm not the gullible girl that I was. And you're the only family I have left..."

"Forgotten your sister, have you?" he cut in.

"Bella is in Azkaban..."

"I meant Andy," he retorted.

"Oh! So you've forgiven her for not believing in your innocence...but you won't give me a chance..."

"Don't you compare yourself to Andy!" he snarled. "Andy didn't let her husband kill Athena's family. And Andy never supported Voldemort like you and your family did! And my equation with Andy is none of your concern, Narcissa."

"So you won't give me a chance to..."

"I won't!"

"Will you at least allow Acquila to remain friends with Draco?"

"You think I'm out of my mind? My daughter is not going to associate with Death-Eater spawn!"

"My son," she retorted heatedly, "is not like Lucius! He may have anti-Muggle ideals, but he will never have violent tendencies like Lucius did. And he loves Acquila. He really does care for her..."

"Malfoys are incapable of caring for anyone other than themselves!"

"My son is also a Black! He's my son! And no matter how much you claim to detest me, you can't deny that I've always cared for my family. And for Draco, Acquila is family! She's his best friend! Don't judge my son for what his father is, Siri...who knows better than you of how it feels when people judge you for being a Black? Don't let your hatred for Lucius cloud your thoughts against my son. Don't take away the one person Draco unconditionally cares for..."

"I'll think of it, Cissy,"he replied, and for the first time since she arrived, Narcissa detected no malice in Sirius' voice.

"Thank you, Siri," she replied, knowing not to pursue the topic further. "And though you may not believe me, I really do care for Acquila; and I'm glad you're a free man," she said and before he could protest, she ruffled his hair, as she used to do when they were kids; and then walked away, a satisfied smile on her face, which couldn't hide the genuine happiness which shone in her eyes.

Sirius rolled his eyes. What was wrong with Narcissa? Did she really think that Sirius would believe that she had turned over a new leaf? That she had finally learnt to break out of her husband's influence? He would not let Acquila to Draco! He didn't trust that boy at all!

He remembered him leaving Harry in the Forest to face Quirrell and running away to save his own life. Draco Malfoy was a coward! And if there was one thing that Sirius valued in a person, it was bravery, which Draco seemed to have none.

But then, Narcissa's words rang through his ears again.

_"Don't judge my son for what his father is, Siri...who knows better than you of how it feels when people judge you for being a Black? Don't let your hatred for Lucius cloud your thoughts against my son."_

"Damn!" Sirius swore aloud. As if he already didn't have much on his mind, Narcissa and her brat had now added to it.

...

It was night, and Sirius stood with the letter from Gringotts in his hand. The Black family fortune was still massive. Acquila and probably her next three generations of descendants would probably be able to lead a life of luxury without even having to earn, with the money in the Black vaults. And with the McKinnon wealth also belonging to his daughter, Acquila was indeed going to be one very rich girl.

His eyes raked over the Black family properties listed in the letter.

Grimmauld Place was out of question. He would never step into that hellhole unless was absolutely necessary.

There were two other mansions in France, which had been purchased by his Grandfather Arcturus. But they were out of question, unless the kids wanted a trip to France in the holidays. Then there was the house bought by Cygnus Black, which would ultimately be inherited by Sirius himself, since he was the male Black heir. But he did not want that House. It belonged to Andy's father. The three Black sisters had grown up there. And if Andy wanted the house, she could have it. If she didn't, Sirius would give it to Narcissa. It was their father's house, and though Sirius hadn't been too fond of Cygnus Black, he had been a good father to the Black sisters when they were kids.

The Manor in Devonshire…Sirius had never visited it. He could take the kids there for a visit, and then ask them whether they wished to live there.

Then there was the Tudor-era castle in Surrey named 'Cepheus' Castle' which was invisible to Muggle eyes. It had been 'purchased' by Cepheus Black, a sixteenth century ancestor of the Blacks. It stood opposite the place where the Muggle King Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace had once stood.

Sirius had visited the castle just once and had been overwhelmed at its architecture. It was more like a palace than a castle, and Sirius had been sure that the Blacks had taken it over by hoodwinking the Muggles who may have owned it. As far as Sirius remembered the Castle had more than a hundred rooms. But somehow, he couldn't imagine living there permanently.

Then, there were the McKinnon mansions as well, but Sirius didn't want to live in the house where Athena's parents, and Marlene had perished.

Sirius owned four properties owned by the Gamps too, but he would have to visit them first, to deem whether they were fit for habitation.

He sighed. What was the use of owning so many houses if there wasn't even one which suited his needs?

Andromeda had invited him to her house, to stay for as long as he wanted. Even Remus had told him to stay at the house which his parents had owned, but Sirius had declined both the offers with thanks. He hadn't wanted to intrude in Andy's family; and as far as Remus was concerned, Sirius wanted him to live with him and the kids. Though Remus hadn't mentioned it, Sirius knew that his finances probably weren't that good, as evidenced by his frayed robes. Remus deserved some happiness, living with the two kids he so loved.

And to be frank, Sirius knew that he would need Remus. He had never taken care of children, and Sirius knew that he would need Remus' help.

A regal owl which came flying in attracted Sirius' attention. How had the owl managed to get in despite Flitwick's charms which were cast to prevent the birds from flying in, unless they belonged to Sirius' family.

The owl stared at him curiously and then daintily placed the letter before Sirius and flew away. Sirius looked at the envelope.

_Sirius Orion Black III_

_Head of the Houses of Black and Gamp_

_Hospital Wing,_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,_

_Scotland_

He recognised the Black family crest on the envelope. Who was writing to him? Most of the Blacks were dead, as far as he knew.

He opened the envelope, and looked at the parchment on which the letter was written. It was one of the costliest parchments in the Wizarding world, made from the delicate skin of dead baby Unicorns who had died naturally, hence being a very rare commodity. And only the Blacks used such kind of parchment to prove their riches to the Wizarding world. He grimaced, the parchment reminding him of all the angry letters which his mother used to send him when he was in Hogwarts.

He shook his head, to shake off the memories, and opened the letter, reading through it.

_Dear Sirius,_

_I do not know whether you remember me, but I am Cassiopeia Ursula Black; your mother Walburga's paternal Aunt._

Sirius snorted. Of course he remembered Cassiopeia Black. His father had made him learn the entire Black family tree beginning from the members who lived in the thirteenth century by-heart, when he was just six-years old Even now, he could probably state the names and years of birth and death of each and every member of the family, except the disowned ones.

_I will not lie and say that I knew you were innocent like I am sure many people are doing now, but I must admit, that if I had an inkling of your innocence, I may have demanded a trial for you, since it was within my rights to see you having a fair trial by virtue of being family._

Sirius smirked. She was a shrewd Slytherin, like most Blacks were. By emphasizing the 'may', she was trying to show him that she wasn't lying that she _would_ have demanded a trial.

_I do now know whether you know that Acquila, you, and I are the only surviving members of the Black family who carry the Black surname. Your Grandfather and my cousin, Arcturus passed away last year, followed by his daughter Lucretia at the beginning of this year. Pollux passed away two years ago, and thus out of all my cousins, I am the only one who is currently alive._

He knew of Arcturus' and Pollux' passing away, but he did not know that Aunt Lucretia had passed away as well. She wasn't as bad to him as the rest of the family were, having married Ignatius Prewett, who didn't carry blood supremacist ideas, like most pure-bloods did.

_And I do not have long to live. I am suffering from the Witch's Malady, and the Healers tell me that I will not live beyond the next couple of months. _

Sirius sighed. He hadn't interacted much with Cassiopeia, but she had never really been as rude to him as the rest of the Blacks thinking of her impending death was strangely distressing to him.

_I have already met Harry and Acquila._

What! When had she met them? Probably at Narciss's ball…

_And though I met them just once, I must say that I have become quite fond of them, especially Harry, who is my sister Dorea's only grandson._

Oh yes! Cassiopeia had loved Dorea despite the break in relation between the Blacks and Potters; no wonder she was fond of Harry.

_And both Harry and Acquila have kindly agreed to spend a few days at my house, the Black Manor, in their vacations._

Oh! So this was the Black Manor that Phineas had referred to. No wonder it wasn't mentioned in the Gringotts letter, since it belonged currently to Cassiopeia, and not Sirius.

_The Manor will belong to you after I pass away, and I would love it, if you stayed here after the kids school term is over, rather than shifting to one of the other Black family properties. Black Manor is an extremely protected place, and I am sure you would want to be away from the barrage of reporters, who I am sure, are going to hound you and the children. Harry would also be assured of safety from any elements which wish to harm him. _

My my! She was really a cunning old witch! The safety that the Manor offered was the one thing that Sirius couldn't ignore.

_I do not have long left to live, Sirius. And though I know that we don't really know each other that well, I wish to spend the remainder of my life with my family, of which only you, Harry and Acquila remain. I would have mentioned Narcissa as well, but I doubt you will get along well with her considering your ideological differences. And as far as Andromeda is concerned, I haven't met her since she ran away with the Muggle-born, and I we will be strangers to each other._

Muggle-born. She didn't say Mudblood, which was strange for a Black.

_I hope you consider my offer, Sirius, since the Manor will anyway belong to you in a few days. I await your reply. And kindly pass on my regards to Harry and Acquila._

_Cassiopeia Ursula Black_

_Daughter of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black_

Sirius put the letter aside. It was definitely an offer to consider, thanks to the security which the Manor seemed to have.

And deep within, Sirius wanted to know Cassiopeia better, for she was the last of her generation of Blacks.

He took a deep breath. It was time to sleep. He had had a long day, including the pleasant afternoon which he had spent with Nymphadora and Remus. The young witch definitely had a soft spot for his much-older friend.

"Time to sleep, Black! But, I can't give you the Dreamless Sleep Potion tonight…you know the side-effects of frequent consumption of the potion," said Madam Pomfrey.

"I know, Poppy. I'll try to sleep without it," replied Sirius, resolving to put a silencing charm around his bed, so as not to awaken the nurse when he woke up screaming from the nightmares which had been hounding him since that Halloween night.

"Good night, Black," said the Nurse softly, after running a diagnostic charm over Sirius to ascertain that he was improving.

"Good night, Poppykiens!" he replied cheekily, as she put off the lamps and departed.

...

Harry groaned. Why did he feel like he had been asleep for a long, long time? He opened his eyes gingerly; only to see his surroundings shrouded with darkness. He sat up to observe his surroundings better, but he could see nothing at all! He scrunched his eyes, only to make out a blurred stone wall at the edge of the room around him. Where were his spectacles? He groped around the cold stone floor on which he lay, trying to feel for his glasses, but he could find them nowhere.

"Where are my spectacles?" he muttered to himself, his voice coming out in a rasped whisper; when suddenly, his spectacles appeared right onto his hand. He put them on quickly, and looked around. He was in a room enclosed within stone walls.

Was he in the Castle itself? But then, why did this room seem so unfamiliar? He couldn't recollect how he had ended up in the strange room. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, and he could see an ancient-looking door on his left. He started walking towards it; and suddenly everything came flashing back to him! Their adventure through the trapdoor, him and Acquila facing Quirrell and then…Voldermort! The last thing he remembered was his scar burning and throbbing as he was holding onto Quirrell, and someone calling out to him. Was he…was he dead? Had Quirrell managed to kill him?  
"Am I dead?" He thought out loud, as if putting the thought into speech would confirm his suspicions. He _was _dead! Or why would he be in this dark room, with no other being in sight.

He was glad that Acquila wasn't with him, because that meant that she was alive! She had managed to survive whatever painful curse Quirrell had cast on her.

And it was then that something struck him! If he was indeed dead then his parents might be somewhere around too…probably behind that door to his left! In a rush of excitement at finally meeting his parents, he sprinted towards the door and wrenched it open, its ancient handle, feeling cold to his touch.

But his hopes died as he entered the room behind the door. The room was exactly the same as the previous one. As he walked ahead he saw a door at the end of this room too.

He sighed and walked toward it, fearing disappointment again, but he couldn't subdue the hope which arose within him. Were his parents behind this door? His mom- with her long red hair, and loving smile; and his father, who looked just like him- the same messy hair, the same features; but a different smile. The James Potter he had seen in the mirror, and in the photograph had a smile which was very different to Harry's- an almost mischievous smile, a smile of someone who was well-loved, a smile which made his father's hazel eyes shine with happiness.

But as Harry walked towards the door, it creaked open and he saw a figure enter.

"Mom?" he asked, half-wearily, half-hopefully, as he realised that it was a silhouette of a girl.

"Harry?" a feminine voice exclaimed.

Harry knew this voice very well. It was the one voice he was hoping he wouldn't hear here.

"Acquila!" He screamed, and went running towards her, engulfing her in a hug.

"Where are we?" she asked him as they let go of each other, though he still held on to her hand.

"I think…I think we're dead!" replied Harry gravely.

"What!" exclaimed Acquila exclaimed. "You think we are dead?"

She pinched him on his arm.

"Ouch!" yelled Harry. "What did you do that for?"

"To show you that we aren't dead, Harry! You wouldn't have been able to feel pain, if we were dead. That's the first thing I did when I woke up in the adjacent room…" she trailed off. "I mean…the dead can't feel physical pain, can they?" she asked, a touch of apprehension in her voice.

"I guess so…but then where are we?"

"I don't know, Harry. I don't know," she replied. "By the way, what happened after I fainted in there?"

Just as Harry was about to answer her, he saw a bright light ahead.

"What's that?" he exclaimed, pointing at the light.

"Where?" said Acquila, looking at where he was pointing, but she seemed unable to see the light.

"That light there! Can't you see it, Ac…Aaaargh!" he screamed in mid-sentence, as the light began pulling him towards it, like some magnetic force. His hand slipped out of Acquila's grasp.

"Acquila!" he yelled, trying to fight the force, and go back to her.

"Harry! Come back! Harry! Harryyyy!" he heard Acquila screaming in fear.

"Let me go, let me go!" he yelled at the invisible force, his screams mingling with Acquila's; but he continued flying towards the light, and he could hear her screams no more.

As the light got brighter and brighter, his eyes couldn't stand the brightness, and they shut of their own accord; till he saw nothingness.

And then, Harry could hear the rustling of leaves. And what was that- the creaking of a window in the wind? And distant footsteps…and the faint growling of a _dog_?

He shifted uneasily in his bed; and he could feel his whole body aching as if he had been working out for days. He felt like he had woken up from a very queer dream. What had he dreamt of? A cold stone floor…and…and a bright light? Why couldn't he remember anything?

He opened his eyes gradually, and took in his surroundings slowly. He reached blindly for his bedside, and to his extreme relief, he felt his spectacles there, and gingerly placed them onto his face. He looked up at the ceiling. He was in the Hospital Wing!

He then turned his face to his left, but saw no one there. And then, to his sudden shock, he felt a hot breath coming from his right. He turned his face to his right gradually, and then let out a blood-curdling shout of fear.

"Aaaaaaargh!'

Grey eyes were looking into his! It was a dog! And the dog's mouth widened, baring his giant teeth! And then, Harry realised that it was the same dog which had saved him that night in the Forbidden Forest. And he sighed in relief.

But Harry's next scream was even louder; as he saw the dog shooting up, and transforming into a tall, long-haired man.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:** This is the longest chapter till date, so I hope it makes up for the wait :-) Do let us know how you find it, because I'm a tad bit apprehensive about some of the scenes, especially the ones between Sirius and Acquila. Hope you all like this chapter too! :-)

**dream lighting** - They wake up in this chapter! And sorry for the wait. The next chapter should be out sooner :-)

**mdauben**- Yes, it was an aspect of the bond. It's explained in this chapter :-) As for the Narcissa part, it'll unfold in the coming updates! Hope you like this one! :-)

**Kida Night**- Me too! ;-)

**Theta-McBride**, **ladywatertiger**, **shugokage**- Thanks a lot! Hope you find this chapter good as well!

**xxSunnyXBlackxx**, **xenocanaan** , **Merida** , **Guest**- Thanks! Next updates should be sooner :-) Hope you like this one too!

**Ariauna**- Thank you soooo much! :-)

**hp**- It is a bit tough to write long chapters, but I hope you find this one worth the wait! Thanks! :-)

**BestMarauderEver**- Thanks a ton! :-D

**Mediatrix** - I hate Lucius too! And I'm glad you liked the photograph part! And thanks for the points you mentioned! They do find a mention in the report! And I really love your reviews! Gives my friend and me a great insight into our writing! Thanks a ton! :-)

And **PotterHead999**- I hope this chapter finds a mention in the best chapters list too! ;-) I loved writing those parts too! And sorry for the delayed update again, but there was just too much to write in this chapter! Love you too! And we're waiting to know how you find chapter 17! :-)

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. It all belongs to JKR, except the original characters.

**Chapter 17: At last... A Family  
**

"Aaaaaaaargh!" Harry's scream of fear lashed at Sirius' eardrums.

"Harry! I... I won't hurt you!" Sirius sputtered urgently, not wanting to scare Harry even further. "Look, I'm unarmed!" he continued, throwing his wand at Harry, and holding both his arms out for Harry to see.

Harry gaped open-mouthed at the strange man before him. As he looked closely at the man who had startled him, he realised with a jolt, that it was Sirius. He sat up with a start, ignoring the pain which passed through his body at his sudden movement.

"Go! Go! Run away! They'll catch you! The Dementors and Aurors! Go! Run!" he exclaimed urgently, trying to get off his bed to bodily push Sirius away from the room before someone saw him.

"Who screamed? Potter! You're up!" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey, who came into the room. "Black! Did you scare him with one of your pranks?" she demanded angrily, as she pushed Harry back into his bed and started waving her wand over him to diagnose his health.

"I didn't play any prank, Poppy! I didn't do it purposely!" replied Sirius indignantly; taking his eyes off Harry, and thus missing the stunned look on Harry's face.

"You...you won't hand him over to the Aurors?" Harry stuttered, looking at Madam Pomfrey, who handed him a glass of water.

"Oh no, Potter," she replied.

"I'm a free man...Pettigrew was caught and handed over to the Aurors," put in Sirius, walking towards Harry, knowing that he wasn't scared of him anymore.

"You're…you're free!" gasped Harry, his green eyes suddenly alight with happiness.

"Yes, I am," replied Sirius, a slow smile spreading over his face on sensing Harry's joy.

"Free of all charges?"

"Yes, Harry! Free of all charges!" Sirius grinned, and Harry noticed how Sirius seemed to be a different man when he smiled; the emptiness in his eyes seemed to vanish, as his grey eyes lit up with a fierce happiness. Grey eyes…his eyes were just like Acquila's…Acquila!

"Where's Acquila?" he exclaimed suddenly, and then spotting her lying on the bed which stood a few feet away from his. He hurriedly kept aside the glass of water, and tried to get up again. Madam Pomfrey who had gone to bring a potion for Harry rushed towards him to put him back into his bed, but Sirius got to him sooner.

"Calm down, Harry. She's fine…just unconscious," he said, as he gently directed Harry back to his bed. "She'll wake up soon. She's just magically exhausted, just like you were…It's been three days now, so she should…"

"Three days!" exclaimed Harry in astonishment. "We've been unconscious for three days! But why hasn't she woken up when I have? She…she will be fine, won't she?"

"She'll wake up soon, Potter. Don't you worry!" said Madam Pomfrey in a motherly tone as she handed over a potion to Harry, and he made a face as he gulped it down.

"Now don't you exert him, Black. He needs to rest…" started the Nurse, but Harry cut in, in an exasperated tone: "But Madam Pomfrey! You said I was asleep for three days! I don't want to rest anymore…"

"No arguing with me, boy!" she said to Harry and then turned to Sirius. "I am giving you five minutes, Black. And then you are going to let my patient sleep!" she said sternly.

"But…" Harry and Sirius started simultaneously, but Madam Pomfrey's commanding "No more buts! Five minutes is all you get!" shut them up promptly as the Nurse gave Sirius one final warning glare and departed to give the Godfather-Godson duo, some privacy to talk.

"I…I'm sorry," said Harry, as the Nurse left.

"Sorry? For what?" exclaimed a stunned Sirius. He should have been the one apologising to Harry for not having been there for him for the past decade. So why on earth was Harry saying sorry to _him?_

"For not being able to protect Acquila," he whispered, and Sirius had the sudden urge to break out into a mirthless laugh. Harry was apologising to him for not being able to protect Acquila? It was Sirius who should have apologised a hundred times over for not being able to save Harry from danger. And here, it was the eleven-year old boy who was saying sorry for not protecting Sirius' daughter, whom Sirius himself should have protected.

Harry stared at Sirius' face. Why wasn't he replying to him? Was he mad at Harry for putting Acquila through danger? It had been _Harry_ whom Voldemort was after, not Acquila. _He_ had put Acquila in danger. If Harry had convinced Acquila to go back with Hermione, rather than accompanying him into the room, she would have been safe. She wouldn't have been unconscious for three days.

"Harry? Harry?" Sirius' voice seemed to come from afar, as Harry ventured deeper into his self-depreciating thoughts.

"HARRY!" Sirius put his hands on both of Harry's shoulders, wanting to bring the boy out of his reverie.

"You're mad at me," Harry whispered, his eyes downcast with guilt.

"No, Prongslet! Why would I be mad at you!" exclaimed Sirius, aghast.

But Harry seemed to have heard only one word of what he said.

"What did you call me?" he asked him, as Sirius sat down in the chair next to his bed.

"Prongslet," replied Sirius smirking slightly. "That's what I used to call you when you were a child!"

"Why?"

"Well, because we called your father 'Prongs'!"

"Why 'Prongs'?"

"Because he was an Animagus!" exclaimed Sirius, as Harry's eyes widened in surprise.

"He was an Animagus?" gasped Harry, "Like you are? What animal was he?"

"He was a Stag!"

"Wow!" whispered Harry, "Will you…will you tell me more about them? My parents, I mean…"

"Of course, I'll tell you about them, kiddo!" grinned Sirius, as he observed the boy minutely.

Harry looked just like James, but he was not much like James. James would never have apologised this readily to someone. The elder Potter had had a slight natural arrogance within him, which try as he might, James couldn't curb. It was something deeply entrenched within him, and frankly, James wouldn't have been James without his arrogance. But Harry; though looked just like James, didn't have the natural poise, the slight haughtiness and self-confidence, which oozed through James. On the contrary, Harry seemed to have inherited Lily's down-to-earth, humble nature.

"So you forgive me for…"

"No talk of forgiving, Harry! You have nothing to be sorry for…It's I who should be apologising to you. I had promised James that I would take care of you if something happened to them…but I went after Pettigrew than taking you home safely…if I hadn't, then you would have lived with us, like a proper family…not with those effi…I mean, not with those Dursleys…and then I could have saved you from Voldemort; I would have kept you safe…I am sorry I wasn't there for you for the past decade. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from Quirrell and Voldemort…"

"But you did protect me, Sirius! You saved me from Quirrell when he was drinking Unicorn blood…in the Forbidden Forest that night! If it wasn't for you, he would have harmed me! But you saved me!"

"Yes, I did," admitted Sirius sheepishly.

"And he also saved you when your broom was jinxed Harry," said a pleasant voice from the doorway.

"He did?" gasped Harry, as Dumbledore entered, followed closely by Remus.

"Good morning, Harry," said Dumbledore, as Remus grinned at Harry who smiled back at him, remembering him as the man who had saved him from the Dementors, and had been one of his father's closest friends.

As Harry's eyes looked into the Headmaster's blue eyes, he suddenly remembered the Stone!

"Sir! The Stone! Did you get it? Did you save it?"

"Calm yourself, dear boy, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out."

"But…tell me about the Stone, Sir!" persisted Harry, a slight panic in his voice.

"Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. Remus and I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."

"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?"

"No. I was in the Wizengamot hearing to convict Peter for his crimes, when it became clear to me that the place I should have been in, was Hogwarts, and not the Ministry. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you."

"It was you!"

"I feared I might be too late."

"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer…"

"Not the Stone, boy, you…the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend…Nicolas Flamel…"

"Oh, yes! You know about Nicolas, don't you? You along with Mister Weasley, Miss Granger and Miss Black, did do the research properly!" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."

Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure," said Dumbledore, and Sirius rolled his eyes at Remus, who grinned slightly in reply. Dumbledore wouldn't have been Dumbledore without his words of wisdom. And the Marauders had heard a new print-worthy quote almost each time they had been taken to the Headmaster's office for the pranks they played, and during the Order meetings.

"You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all -the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling, while Remus went to Acquila's bedside, as his sensitive ears caught a slight sound of movement coming from her.

"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking...even if the Stone's gone, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"

And despite the chord of fear for Harry which struck his heart, Sirius was glad that Harry didn't refer to Voldemort as 'You-know-who' or 'He-who-must-not-be-named'. He wasn't scared of a mere name like most witches and wizards were. Harry was _indeed_ the son of James and Lily- two of the bravest people Sirius had known.

"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share... not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time - and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

"He is not going to hurt you again, Harry. I promise I'll do whatever it takes to keep him away from you. I'll keep you safe, I swear. You're like a son to me, Harry…as much as Acquila is my daughter…and Voldemort is going to have to pass over my dead body before he can harm you," put in Sirius determinedly, and Harry felt a lump in his throat.

Sirius _cared _for him, though he had never even met Harry properly, though he didn't even know Harry well. But here he was, promising to keep him safe, promising to keep Voldemort away from Harry. Was this how it felt to have someone care for you? Was this how it felt to have a parent who was concerned for your wellbeing? Did Sirius really mean what he said; that Harry was like a son to him? And though Harry didn't not know his Godfather well at all; he somehow knew that Sirius meant each and every word of what he had said.

"Thank you…" he whispered, in a slightly choked voice, as Remus put a steadying hand on his shoulder.

"Now, will you tell us what happened down in that room, Harry?" asked Dumbledore softly. "I have already spoken to Miss Granger, and she told me how the four of you managed to pass through all the enchantments with commendable presence of mind and courage. Now will you tell us of what happened when you saw Quirrell in the room?"

"We went in…" started Harry, when Sirius cut in, "Dumbledore, can't we do this later? Harry has just woken up! Why would you want to put him through…"

"Sirius, let him talk, and get it off his chest. And there are a few matters, which I need to understand, and only Harry can explain them to me."

"But…"

"It's okay, Sirius," said Harry softly. "I'll…I want to tell you what happened …"

Sirius sighed, and then nodded.

"So we went in through the door, and then…Quirrell was standing there. And he admitted to…to jinxing my broom and killing the Unicorn and drinking its blood…and then he wanted the Stone…he waved his wand, and Acquila and I were bound by ropes…"

Sirius bristled angrily. "He bound you with ropes!" he thundered furiously.

"Padfoot," said Remus softly, wanting his friend to calm down; and Harry exclaimed, "Padfoot? Was that the name for you, Sirius? Because of your Dog form?"

"Yes, Harry," Remus replied, as Sirius nodded.

"What did they call you, Remus?"

"Mooney!" replied Sirius.

"Why…" started Harry, as Remus' smile suddenly disappeared, and Sirius tensed slightly. He knew that Remus hadn't told the children of his Lycanthropy.

"Why don't we continue with your retelling of that night, Harry?" cut in Dumbledore. "Sirius and Remus can tell you all about their prankster days later."

"Yes, Sir…so, he bound us with the ropes…but they disappeared!"

"They just disappeared?" gasped Sirius, and Harry nodded, wincing slightly as the movement made his neck ache.

"Headmaster! My patient needs to rest!" Poppy Pomfrey burst into the room suddenly. "Black! I had given you just five minutes…"

"Poppy, I _need_ to talk to Harry about what took place in that room," interrupted Dumbledore.

"But, Headmaster…"

"Poppy!" said Dumbledore in a voice which made it clear that he was not to be opposed, and the Nurse reluctantly departed, muttering under her breath about stubborn Headmasters who didn't let her tend to her patients; while Sirius smirked slightly.

"Kindly continue, Harry," said Dumbledore.

"So…so the ropes disappeared…I don't know how…Acquila held my hand…and…and I felt something within me! Like a sudden spurt of…of magic…and the ropes just disappeared into thin air…I think Acquila did it with her wandless magic…but then, why did I feel something surging within me as well?" he trailed off, speaking more to himself that the three older men.

Remus and Dumbledore said nothing. They knew this was because of the bond. But Sirius gaped at Harry. Andromeda and McGonagall had told him that Acquila was an extremely powerful witch. But Harry was powerful as well! And making things disappear wandlessly was quite an extraordinary display of magic for eleven-year olds!

"And then, we heard the voice from the back of Quirrell's head…Voldemort's voice. He said that he wanted to see us, that we were too powerful for mere eleven-year olds. And then Quirrell un-wrapped his turban, and…and he turned…and…" Harry faltered, flinching as he thought of Voldemort's face at the back of Quirrell's head.

"Instead of the back of his head, there was a…a chalk white face…with red eyes…and nostrils like a…like a snake…" he continued, and Sirius suddenly rushed to Harry, and put his arm around his shoulder, trying to support his Godson. Sirius shivered slightly as he thought of Harry and Acquila facing the horror that was Voldemort, all alone, with not a single adult for company. As Harry leaned himself slightly against Sirius, the Animagus thanked his stars that his children has survived the encounter with one of the most vile wizards of all time.

"I'm fine," said Harry softly, as he turned a bit red. He did not want Sirius to think that he was scared of Voldemort. But as he snuggled himself slightly into his Godfather's one-armed embrace, Harry couldn't deny that he somehow felt _safe_ with Sirius.

"So then Voldemort faced us, and he spoke to Acquila. He said she was like…" he paused, trying to remember the name Voldemort had mentioned. "He said she was like Bellatrix…just as beautiful, just as powerful…"

As soon as he uttered Bellatrix' name, Harry felt Sirius stiffen. He thought of asking him more about it, but then decided to continue with the narration of the events of that night.

"And then he…he told her that she could leave. He said he didn't want to spill pure blood, and that he just wanted me, not her. He told her to leave, and I tried to make her go…but she refused to listen to me…she refused to leave…she could have saved herself, believe me, I tried to make her go…" said Harry, a note of earnestness creeping into his voice.

"I know you would have tried to convince her to leave, kiddo. But she wouldn't have left a friend in danger," said Sirius, inwardly proud of his daughter for not deserting Harry, unlike what Malfoy's brat had done.

"And then, he said he would give her a chance to leave again, but she refused defiantly, and pushed me behind her and stood before me…and Voldemort said that she was just like my mom…he said he had given her a chance to save herself, but my mom refused…and sacrificed her life for me…" he trailed off his eyes suddenly moist at the thought of his mother having given up her life for him.

As Sirius held on to Harry, not knowing how to react, Remus spoke in a choked voice, "Lily…well, she always said that she would never let Voldemort harm you even if it meant she had to sacrifice her very life for it…it's what she wanted to do, Harry…to protect you, let you survive…"

"Kindly continue, Harry," said Dumbledore, after throwing Sirius a pointed look. _This_ was the blood protection Dumbledore had talked about- Lily sacrificing her life for her son, when she had been given a chance to save herself. Sirius glared defiantly at Dumbledore, and then urged Harry to continue.

"And then he told me that he wanted me to stand in front of the mirror…to get the stone, but I refused…and…and he cast a curse on Acquila…" His voice gained a pained tone. "He said 'Crucio' and she fell down to the ground and started flailing and twitching and screaming…and I knew that Quirrell was hurting her! I could feel it! Like hundreds of needles pricking all over her body! I could feel it within me! I could feel her pain…how did that happen, Sir? How did that happen? How did that happen?" he almost shouted at Dumbledore in a panicked tone, oblivious to Sirius' arms around him loosening.

Sirius stood up suddenly; and then looked straight into Harry's green eyes which were glistening with tears.

"You could feel her pain?"

"Yes," Harry's reply came out in a whisper.

As Sirius looked at Dumbledore for an explanation, the look on the Headmaster's face told him that Dumbledore wasn't surprised at this at all; which meant that Dumbledore had known of some kind of connection between Harry and Acquila, and had still told Sirius nothing of it.

He then looked at Remus, and his grey eyes darkened with rage as he saw no surprise, no astonishment on his friend's face and Sirius realised that Remus too knew of whatever it was that had made Harry feel Acquila's pain. He had half a mind to grab Remus by the scruff of his robes and demand an explanation as to why he had kept whatever it was hidden from Sirius. But then, he thought of Harry, who had a worried expression on his James-like face, and decided to deal with Remus and Dumbledore later, when Harry wasn't around.

"Sir! Tell me, why did that happen? Sirius? Remus? Do you know?" asked Harry urgently.

"Harry," said Dumbledore. "Magic is such a vast field, that there are innumerable aspects of magic, which are unknown to us. I will find out more about what happened and let you know when I do. Now will you continue further?"

Harry looked at Dumbledore a tad skeptically. Why was he getting the feeling that Dumbledore knew exactly why he had been able to feel Acquila's pain, but was refusing to tell Harry?

"Harry?"

"Yes, Sir…so…he cast the curse on her again, and then she fainted...I tried to go towards her, but he said that he would kill her if I didn't look into the Mirror. And so, I went and stood in front of the mirror, and the Philosopher's Stone somehow landed into the pocket of my robes! But as he asked me what I could see in the mirror, I lied to him that I could see myself holding the Quidditch Cup. And then, Quirrell pushed me aside and started looking into the Mirror himself. But Voldemort told him that _I_ had the Stone…and he told me to hand it over to him…I refused, and then, he said I will go the way my parents went…he said that they died begging him for mercy…"

"THAT BASTARD!" roared Sirius, "James and Lily would never have begged anyone for mercy, least of all, Voldemort!"

"That's what I told him!" said Harry earnestly. "And then he admitted, that…that my dad put up a courageous fight…but…but my mum need not have died…" Harry faltered, as he saw the pained look in Sirius' eyes as he mentioned James. Remus meanwhile, seemed to be breathing deeply to control his own outburst.

"Continue, Harry," said Dumbledore softly.

"Then, Voldemort told Quirrel to seize me, and I sprinted towards Acquila, and raised my wand at him…but I couldn't think of any spell to cast…and then…spells and curses started jumping off my wand! On their own! I did nothing! But the curses…red, blue, yellow jets of light…they started hitting Quirrell!" he exclaimed in an awed tone, as he recollected what had happened. As he looked up at the three adults, he saw the same awe and amazement reflecting in their faces as well. And Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled brightly, as he smiled benignly at Harry.

"He started casting curses at me as well, and I dodged some of them…but one of the spells from my wand hit him, and he fell down. And then, I tried to drag Acquila towards the door…I had almost reached the door, but there was…a wall of fire around me…and I was stupid! I forgot my wand on the floor, when I tried to drag Acquila…and Quirrell came towards me…he tried to strangle me…but when he touched me, his hands burnt! And so I tried to grab his face, knowing that it would burn on coming in contact with me hands…and…and…then I don't remember what happened…" he finished rather lamely.

"And then, I pulled Quirrell off you; while Remus rushed to Acquila's side," said Dumbledore calmly.

As Harry looked at Sirius, he saw that Sirius had turned around and stood facing the wall, hiding his emotions from them all.

"Siri…" started Harry, but stopped on seeing Remus nod his head sideways.

Harry then turned to Dumbledore. "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me... things I want to know the truth about..."

"The truth," Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

"Well... Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?"

Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time. And as Harry looked at Remus, he saw a flicker of something unrecognizable in his eyes, but it was such a momentary flicker, that Harry thought that he had probably imagined it.

"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day... put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older... I know you hate to hear this... when you are ready, you will know."

And Harry knew it would be no good to argue.

"But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Harry's eyes were moist again, and Sirius came back to his side, putting his arm around him again, while Remus patted his shoulder.

"And there's something else..."

"Fire away," said Dumbledore.

"Quirrell said Snape…"

"Professor Snape, Harry," corrected Dumbledore, and Sirius muttered something under his breath.

"Yes, him…Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"

And before Dumbledore could reply, Harry heard Sirius snort loudly.

"Of course he hated Jamie! James was everything Snivellus could never have been!" Sirius said vehemently; and the corners of Harry's mouth twitched into a smile when he heard Sirius say 'Snivellus'. "Snape was jealous of James…jealous of his popularity, of James' courage, his noble nature, and the fact that Lil…"

"That's enough, Sirus!" said Dumbledore, and then turned to Harry. "Well, Harry. James and Severus had always had a rather rancorous relationship. They did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."

"What?"

"He saved his life."

"What?"

"Yes..." said Dumbledore dreamily."Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt... I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace..."

"How did he save him?"

But this time, it was Remus who spoke. "How about we tell you that some other day, Harry?"

Harry nodded reluctantly, while Sirius gave Remus a grateful smile.

"And sir, there's one more thing..." he said to Dumbledore.

"Just the one?"

"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone - find it, but not use it - would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes... Now, enough questions. I think you should spend some time with Sirius and Remus, while I look into some other work that beckons to me," the Headmaster smiled and departed after throwing Harry a wink.

Harry, Sirius and Remus sat in silence for some time, each unsure of what to say. Remus sat on the chair by Acquila's bedside, while Sirius still sat beside Harry, his arm still around Harry's shoulder.

"Harry?" said Sirius, and Harry heard the hesitance in his voice.

"Yes?" he asked, looking into his Godfather's anxious eyes.

"I…I know you wish to stay with Andy…but I am your Godfather…and I…would you…"

Remus snickered at Sirius' hesitation, and Sirius shot him a furious glare, which only made Remus snicker louder. Sirius Black, who hadn't flinched while facing the evilest of Death-Eaters, was hesitating while talking to his own Godson!

"Umm…Harry…" Sirius turned to Harry again. "Would you like to stay with me…as a family…"

"You mean I don't have to go back to the Dursleys?"

Sirius nodded and Harry let out a whoop of joy. "Of course I want to stay with you!" he exclaimed, and Sirius spontaneously put his arms around Harry, hugging his Godson tightly.

Harry sat motionless for a moment. He had never ever been hugged by anyone other than Acquila and Hermione! Especially not by an adult, if he discounted Acquila's teacher, Mrs. Smith. And Mrs. Smith certainly hadn't hugged him with such love, such affection. And thus, it didn't take long for Harry to put his arms around Sirius' lanky body and hug him back with equal, if not more fervour.

"I love you a lot, Prongslet," whispered Sirius in an almost inaudible whisper. But Harry heard it, and hugged Sirius even tighter; glad to have someone who seemed to love him truly.

Remus, whose highly sensitive ears had caught Sirius' words too, grinned widely, his eyes drinking in the joyous scene before him. He could almost feel the air tingling with happiness- Harry's happiness at finally having a parent-like figure, and the promise of a true family; and Sirius' happiness at finally being united with the Godson whom he loved as much as he would have loved a son of his own.

"Group hug, Mooney!" Sirius called out, and Remus stood up and started walking towards them, but stopped in mid-step. In all the euphoria over Harry and Sirius, he hadn't noticed two grey eyes which were staring at the black-haired man and boy.

"Acquila! You're up!" he exclaimed, and Acquila looked at him, turning her neck gingerly. Harry and Sirius let go of each other, and Harry made to get up, to go to Acquila, but Sirius stopped him.

"You need to lie down, Harry. Don't get up," he said and walked towards Acquila, his feet feeling like they were made of lead.

"When did you wake up?" he asked her in a slightly croaky voice.

Acquila stared at Sirius in shock, oblivious to Harry and Remus asking her about how she was feeling.

Was she dreaming? No, she couldn't be. Was it like the dream she had about her and Harry being in that dark place? Had she even dreamt of it? Why couldn't she recollect more of that dream? Perhaps this was a dream as well. Her father couldn't possibly be here, hugging Harry, asking him to live with him, could he? She tried to move her hand to pinch herself to ascertain whether she was dreaming, but found herself unable to move her arm without feeling a spasm of pain shoot through her limb. She sighed softly, and then shut her eyes again. This _was_ a dream. Perhaps when she woke up next, she would wake up, really _wake up. _

"Acquila!" she heard the same voice call out to her, and then felt a rough hand almost hesitantly move away the hair from her forehead. She opened her eyes again, only to look into grey eyes which were eerily similar to hers. Grey eyes, which seemed to contain a strange emptiness, and a fierce joy, along with a whole lot of hesitation. She looked groggily at the face which the eyes belonged to, and saw her own features, albeit in a masculine mould. It was certainly her father- she thought and shut her eyes again, as she leaned into his touch. And the next moment, her eyes flew open suddenly. It was HER FATHER!

"It's you," she said in a rasped voice, more of a question than a statement.

"Yes, it's me," replied Sirius, a tad disappointed. Somewhere deep within him, he had expected her to call him 'Dad' and rush into his arms for a hug; like she used to when she was a little girl…Daddy's little girl.

"I'm not dreaming?" she muttered, as Remus handed him a glass of water; while Harry stared wide-eyed at the scene before him, wanting to talk to Acquila, but realising that he needed to give Sirius time to reacquaint himself with his daughter.

Sirius took the glass of water, and poured it slowly into Acquila's mouth, and she flinched slightly as the water slid down her parched throat, when suddenly something struck her, and she tried to sit up, trying to ignore the pain which flooded through her body.

"Don't get up, love," she heard Sirius say, as he gingerly lay her back into her bed.

"You shouldn't be here! The Dementors will get you!" she said, and she thought she saw Sirius roll his eyes.

"He's free, Acquila!" piped in Remus. "They caught Pettigrew and sentenced him to Azkaban. Your father is a free man!" he exclaimed jovially.

"You're free?" she whispered, unable to believe it at all.

Sirius looked at her, wanting nothing more than to hug his daughter and never let go. But he needed to tread carefully. Remus had told him to take things slowly. Yes, Sirius was her father; but he was an unknown entity for Acquila. Sirius had at least had some memories of her, but she had none of him. As of now, he was her father only in name. She knew nothing about him; he was as good as a stranger to her.

"Yes, I'm free," he replied, and before he had any time to react, Acquila sat up suddenly and flung her arms around his middle, and he held her as tightly as he could without hurting her sore body; pressing kisses onto her forehead.

"Oh Acquila! I love you so much…" he said in a choked voice, not even realising that his eyes were brimming with tears. He had his daughter at last. After ten years of grieving for her, ten long years where he thought she was dead; he finally had his daughter in his arms. The little girl who had loved her daddy was finally with him.

"I'm so happy…I have a father…" she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

"Merlin! I can't tell you how happy I am…Acquila…" he said, his vision blurred by the tears which in his eyes. Sirius Black had never been a person who cried easily. It took a lot to bring tears to his eyes. But somehow, he just couldn't contain the unshed tears which had formed in his eyes. He blinked them away, not wanting to cry in front of his daughter and godson.

Acquila said nothing, as she clung on to him; but he felt the dampness on his robes.

"Hey! Don't cry, darling," he said, cupping her face, to look into her eyes, from the corners of which he could see her tears gradually descending onto her cheeks.

She looked back at him, and Sirius was momentarily astounded at the smile which graced her face- the same smile which belonged to him, and to Regulus.

"I'm not crying…I don't cry," she muttered indignantly, and Sirius just smirked at her, wiping away the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Of course, you don't cry," he said, the smirk still firm on his face. "Now, why don't you lie down? I don't want Poppy scolding me again," he said and helped her lie down on her bed.

Unknown to them, Harry had been staring at them since the past few minutes- his green eyes shining with happiness, and a deep longing. Of course, he loved Acquila, and he was extremely happy that she had been reunited with her father. But that didn't stop a small part of mind pining for his own parents, wishing it was his own father and him who were hugging each other, instead of Acquila and Sirius. And Remus, who had observing Harry minutely, walked over to him, and put an arm around his shoulder.

"He loves you just as much, Harry," he whispered to him.

"I know…but…" he faltered, looking longingly at Sirius, who pressed a kiss onto Acquila's forehead.

"But you're wishing it was James and you," Remus said to him softly, and Harry nodded almost imperceptibly.

"I'm so happy…you're free at last…and I have a father…" she said, and

"It's natural to feel that way," said Remus to him, as he affectionately ruffled his hair, which fell messily onto Harry's forehead, just like James' hair.

"But..." started Harry, but he stopped, on listening to Sirius speak to Acquila, "How are you feeling? I mean, I know you must be hurting...the bloody curse can do that to you...but are you okay? I mean...wait, I'll call Poppy...but then she'll make me leave...Merlin! Did I hug you too tightly? I shouldn't have...are you in pain..."

Acquila stared at Sirius, unsure of which question to reply to, till Remus cut in: "Sirius! You're rambling!"

"I never ramble, Mooney!" drawled Sirius, as he and Acquila turned their gazes towards the werewolf, and that's when Acquila realised that she had forgotten about Harry in the elation of having met her father.

"Oh Harry! How are you? And oh my! The Stone! Did you save...Did Quirrell hurt you, Harry?" she exclaimed, wanting to go towards Harry, but realising that she didn't really have the strength to do so.

"I'm fine, Acquila. And Quirrell's dead..."

"He's dead? And Voldemort?"

Acquila didn't notice the slightly smug look on Sirius' face as she said 'Voldemort' and not 'You-know-who'.

"He fled, but why don't Harry and you talk about it later, Acquila?" put in Remus.

Acquila was on the verge of protesting, but stopped when she saw Harry pointedly looking at her and then at Sirius; trying to tell her to talk to Sirius first.

She looked at her father and saw him already looking at her, the hesitation back in his eyes. She smiled at him, a tad awkwardly. Now that the euphoria at having met him had diminished a bit, she realised that the man before her, though her father, was a stranger to her. What was she supposed to say? What does one say to their own father, whom they don't know at all; of whom they have no recollection, no memories at all? What was she supposed to call him? 'Father' like Draco called Lucius? Or 'Dad' as Dora called Uncle Ted? Or 'Papa' as Parvati Patil addressed her father? What had Acquila called him when she was a kid? What does one say to a father they've never met?

"Are you alright, love?" Sirius asked her, sensing her sudden awkwardness.

"I'm fine...umm..." she faltered, still unsure of how to address him.

"Are you hurting? Are you in pain?" he asked her, awkwardness now creeping into his tone as well.

"No...just a bit...but I'm just feeling a bit tired..."

"Oh my! Do I call Poppy?"

"No...it's alright..."

"Oh! Okay..."

Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius' sudden lack of tact; while Harry had half a mind to smack Acquila on her head to put some sense into it. What was wrong with Acquila? Why was she talking to Sirius in such an awkward, hesitant manner? Didn't she realise how lucky she was to have a father; to get an opportunity to talk to her parent? And Sirius seemed cool! Harry had hardly felt any awkwardness when he had spoken to him. So why was Acquila behaving this way?

As silence fell between the father and daughter, Harry exclaimed, "Acquila! He's the dog!"

"What dog...oh my! The dog who saved you! And the one I spoke to!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes," the three males replied in unison.

"You're an Animagus? But you weren't on the registered list," she gasped, and then continued before Sirius could reply. "Why didn't you tell me that you were the dog, when I met you by the lake?" she demanded.

"I was going to transform...but you said you hated me...and then..."

"I don't hate you! Of course, I don't!" she cut in.

"Thank you," whispered Sirius, inwardly wondering whether she would stick to not hating him if she knew of how he had indirectly led to Athena's death.

"BLACK! Why didn't you tell me that your daughter has woken up? Come on, move aside! Let me check her!"

"But…"

"Move, Black!"

"I'm fine, Madam Pomfrey," put in Acquila, as the Nurse waved her wand over her, muttering under her breath.

"Of course you _aren't_ fine, dear," she said, and then turned to Remus. "Lupin! I thought you were more sensible than Black!"

"Hey!" retorted Sirius, but Madam Pomfrey waved aside his protests.

"Why didn't you call me when she woke up, Lupin? When did she wake up?"

"Around ten minutes ago," muttered Remus sheepishly.

"Ten minutes! Merlin! Adults these days…"

"But I'm alright, Madam Pomfrey, just a bit sore and…" started Acquila, but the Nurse cut her off: "Nonsense! You need to rest, dear. And you, Potter! Go off to sleep, or I'll have to keep you here tomorrow as well, and you'll miss the Leaving Feast…"

"Alright, alright," said Harry in defeat, and Remus pulled the covers over him.

"Good," she said, and then turned to Acquila. "You too need to rest, child. Sleep for a couple of hours and then I'll tell the elves to bring Potter and you something to eat, once the potions I gave you take effect."

"I'll leave. Why don't you rest, Sirius?" said Remus, but Sirius replied, "No, Remus. There's a lot that Dumbledore, you and I have to talk about."

Remus flinched slightly as he saw the rage in Sirius' eyes.

Acquila stared at her father. She didn't want him to leave. Despite the awkwardness she was felt, she didn't want him to leave. She wanted to talk to him, spend time with him. She opened her mouth to tell him to stay with her, but before she could do so, Sirius walked up to her, kissed her forehead, did the same to Harry, and then left with Remus following him.

Acquila stared at the ceiling, as Harry stared at her, after Madam Pomfrey departed.

"Acquila?" he whispered.

"Yes, Harry," she replied softly.

"What are you…" he stopped in mid-sentence as they heard voices at the door.

"Please, Madam Pomfrey…"

"Just a few minutes…"

"No! Off you go now!" came the Nurse's reply, followed by the Nurse herself entering their room.

"It was Ron and Hermione, wasn't it?" exclaimed Harry.

"Let them in…Please!" put in Acquila.

"No! You both need to rest!" said Madam Pomfrey sternly.

"Just five minutes," Harry pleaded.

"Absolutely not."

"You let Professor Dumbledore in..."

"Well, of course, that was the headmaster, quite different. You need rest."

"You let my father and Remus in…"

"Your father's been here since three days, child. And as for Lupin, the Headmaster wanted him…and both of you need to rest now for the potions to do their work!"

"We are resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey..."

"Oh, very well," she finally gave in. "But five minutes only."

And she let Ron and Hermione in.

"Harry!"

"Acquila!"

Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around Acquila, but she seemed to have stopped herself on realising that Acquila might be in pain. Ron, meanwhile, stood beside Harry's bed.

"Oh, Harry, Acquila, we were sure you were going to…Dumbledore was so worried…" started Hermione.

"The whole school's talking about it," said Ron. "And your dad! Did you meet him, Acquila? He's all over the newspapers?"

"Yes, we met him," said Acquila, before Ron interrupted her, "You both won't believe it! Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew!"

"WHAT!" exclaimed Acquila and Harry in unison, both staring open-mouthed at Ron.

"Oh, Ronald," snapped Hermione. "At least ask them how they are feeling first! They were unconscious for three days!"

"Oh damn! How are you guys?" Ron muttered sheepishly, the tips of his ears turning red.

"We're fine! But tell us about Scabbers!" exclaimed Acquila.

"You tell us about what happened in that room first!" said Hermione; and over the next few minutes, Ron, Hermione, Acquila and Harry narrated all the events that had taken place, except the part about Harry having felt the Cruciatus Curse which Quirrell had cast on Acquila. He hadn't wanted to tell them before discussing it with Acquila first.

"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to die?"

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that…what was it?...'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.

"I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron, looking quite impressed at how crazy his hero was; while Acquila just rolled her eyes.

"So what happened to you two?" said Harry.

"Well, I got back all right," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round and he went to the Hospital Wing… and I was dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him, another man and your Aunt Andromeda in the entrance hall…Dumbledore already knew…he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor with the other two."

"So…how did it go with your dad, Acquila?" asked Hermione.

"Oh! Sirius is cool! And I'm going to live with him! I don't have to go back to the Dursleys!" exclaimed Harry happily, while Acquila just smiled.

As Ron and Harry discussed Sirius and the questioning of the Weasleys by the Aurors, Hermione went to Acquila and sat by her.

"What's the matter, Acquila? You're happy that your dad's free, aren't you?"

"I'm happy, 'Mione…just a bit overwhelmed…and I sort of didn't know what to say…" she stopped as Ron exclaimed to her, "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course…you both missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without Harry…but the food'll be good."

At that very moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled in.

"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT" she said firmly and Ron and Hermione left after promising to visit them again in the evening; not wanting to anger the Nurse.

"And now, off you go to sleep! I don't want a single word from both of you, or I'll be forced to feed you Dreamless Sleep Potion which will have you sleeping till the end of the Leaving Feast," warned Madam Pomfrey, and Harry and Acquila shut their eyes; each still awake, immersed in their own thoughts.

...

"Padfoot, listen to me!" said Remus, as he followed Sirius up the staircase, trying to keep pace with the Animagus' long strides.

"Don't you dare talk to me, Remus!" Sirius spat at him. "You knew about whatever it is…this connection that the kids share…I know you in and out, Remus! You knew of it, and you hid it from me!" he snarled.

"Si…Sirius…" Remus panted, inwardly cursing Sirius. Where on earth did Sirius get all that energy to sprint up the stairs? He was a malnourished patient for Merlin's sake! And here he was running up the stairs at a Centaur's pace.

"I admit I knew of it…but…" he paused for breath, "But you were already going through so much…and I thought…"

"Thought what, Remus?" Sirius screamed at him, making a little Hufflepuff tumble down the stairs in sheer fright. Remus muttered an apology to the boy, who scampered off, and then sighed deeply. The fact that Sirius was calling him 'Remus' and not 'Remmy' or 'Mooney' told him just how angry he was with him.

"You thought Dumbledore and you can make decisions for me? You think you can decide the extent of what I can handle and what I cannot?" he thundered, and Remus, who was about to reply, thought it better to keep mum for the time being as Sirius turned his attention to the Gargoyles standing guard at the door to Dumbledore's office.

"Open!" he snarled at them. "Open up! Don't make me blast you!" he said, and Remus smiled on remembering Dumbledore telling him of Acquila having threatened the Gargoyles in a similar fashion a few months ago.

The Gargoyles shifted aside, allowing the Animagus and the Werewolf to step onto the spiral staircase which led to the Headmaster's office.

"Ah! I knew I would see you here soon, Sirius. Why don't you have a seat…"

"Cut out the pleasantries, Dumbledore! What's wrong with my children? How could Harry feel the effects of the curse cast on Acquila? What's happening to them?" he burst out angrily, ignoring Remus' efforts to make him sit.

"I'll get straight to the point, Sirius. Your daughter and godson share a magical bond."

Remus had expected Sirius to show some kind of surprise and anger, but all that Sirius said was, "What kind of bond - one wherein each can feel the other's pain, wherein they know if the other's in danger?"

"You are quite right. But how did you deduce the danger bit?"

"The Halloween night when Jamie…Acquila knew Harry was in danger…she kept crying for Harry and Prongs and Lily…and that's why I went to see whether Peter was…then there was another incident when Harry had fallen off his broomstick and hurt his head and Acquila kept crying out for him…Athena and I always thought that it was just co-incidental…" he trailed off, and then sighed. _He_ had thought that it was coincidental. Athena had always believed that there was some kind of connection between the two kids, but Sirius had dismissed her thoughts.

'Oh Athena! Why aren't you here when we need you?' he thought as he collapsed into the chair, and then tried to put the thoughts of his loving wife in the dark recesses of his mind, and concentrate on the matter at hand.

"Well, the day I took Acquila to the orphanage and Harry to Privet Drive," said Dumbledore, "I had sensed the presence of a strange magic within them both- a magic which was both: deep, powerful and incomplete…"

"Incomplete?"

"Yes, incomplete. Harry and Acquila aren't complete without each other. They are bound to each other, because it's the same soul which dwells within both of them. One single soul- two parts; one within Harry and the other within Acquila. And that's why they aren't complete without the other. They are soul-mates, to put it simply…"

"Are…are you out of your mind, Dumbledore?" gasped Sirius, though he knew that what Dumbledore was saying did make sense. "You mean to tell me that my daughter is…she…Harry…" he sputtered. "I am not going to force my daughter or my godson to be with each other just because of some stupid bond!" he yelled.

"Calm down, Padfoot," said Remus softly.

"How the hell do I calm down, Mooney? She's my daughter! She's my only child! And she's just eleven for Merlin's sake! I am not going to…to let her go off with some guy like that!"

"Sirius, Harry is not _some_ guy," sighed Remus.

"I know that!" he snapped. "But she's my daughter…and…and she's not going to be in any weird bond with any boy, even if it's Harry! I'm not going to let them…Ugh!" he shuddered, and Remus wasn't too keen on knowing the mental images which he knew were flowing through Sirius' mind.

"Sirius, I am not telling you to get them married or…"started Dumbledore.

"She's not marrying till she's thirty!" growled Sirius. "She's just a child! And she's my only daughter! And I haven't even been with her for the past decade! And she isn't just going to go off with Harry like that! I mean…if they have a bond…they'll get married some day…and she'll probably snog him … and … and … they'll have…Ugh! No way! My daughter is doing none of that!"

Remus stifled a snigger; while the corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched into a smile. Trust Sirius to play the protective father card.

"Don't you dare laugh, Mooney!" he heard Sirius growl suddenly.

"But I didn't…"

"Don't lie! I know you were trying to control your laughter!"

"Alright, alright," said Remus, smirking slightly.

"You know how teenage guys are, don't you, Remus? My daughter is not going to…"

"Harry is not _you_, Sirius," put in Remus dryly. "You may have been a have had more girlfriends than a Hippogriff has feathers, till you were fifteen, but that doesn't mean Harry is going to be the same. And he's not even twelve for Merlin's sake! All that is years away!"

"Remmy, there weren't even as many girls in Hogwarts as there are feathers in a Hippogriff! And I had hardly twenty girlfriends…make that thirty…or…"

"Forty-three, excluding Athena," piped Remus, remembering James and him having kept track of the girls who dangled on Sirius' arm each weekend.

"Fine!" huffed Sirius. "Forty-three! But I dated most of them just to make Athena jealous, because she refused to date me! And that's beside the point! _You_ know how teenage boys are! I am sure you remember Jamie and me having come across a certain sandy-haired wizard with Annie Riverstock in the Astronomy tower with your hand up her…"

"Though I am gaining enormous amusement on listening to how both of you spent your years at Hogwarts, I think we should come back to the matter at hand," interrupted Dumbledore, a sly grin on his face, and his eyes twinkling merrily.

"Yes, yes, Albus," said Remus hastily, his face red with embarrassment.

"Acquila is not … not … Merlin! She's not going to be with Harry in any kind of romantic way!" said Sirius in frustration.

"Sirius, it isn't something you can help. It's a magical bond! It's a natural thing! There's nothing which you and I can do! And keeping Harry away from Acquila may have adverse…"

"I am _not_ going to keep Harry away from Acquila! I love him just as much as I love Acquila! But…you need to understand, Dumbledore. I am meeting my daughter after ten long years…and now this eerie bond business…it scares…" Sirius stopped in mid-sentence.

"What's the matter, Padf..."

"Does it mean that if….if something happens to one of them, the other will…the other will die as well?"

"I am afraid you are right, Sirius," said Dumbledore gravely, but the sudden twinkle in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by Remus.

"Holy Merlin!" sighed Sirius, and held his head in his hands.

"Sirius," said Dumbledore softly. "There is a bright side to the bond too."

Sirius raised his head quickly, and looked into Dumbledore's eyes. "What is it?"

"I am sure you wondered about Harry's wand throwing spells and curses on its own," said Dumbledore.

"Of course, I did," said Sirius, while Remus nodded.

"I can't be certain of it, but I have a hunch…"

"When have your hunches been wrong, Dumbledore?" said Sirius, and Dumbledore's face suddenly turned grave.

"Quite a lot of times, Sirius," he sighed. "But as I was saying, I have a hunch that after Acquila fell unconscious due to the Crutiatus, Harry drew on her magic…"

"What!" gasped Sirius and Remus together.

"Harry is a powerful wizard in his own right, but when he was threatened by Quirrell and Voldemort, Acquila's magic, though she was unconscious rushed to save her soul mate. And Harry's magic reached out to Acquila's, and drew on it. That's why, when Harry and Acquila's magic merged into one, there was a massive quantity of magic within Harry; and it flowed through his wand and attacked Quirrell with a flurry of curses, which Harry didn't even know of. And _that_ is why Acquila was magically exhausted. She hardly used her magic; she used it only to make the ropes which Quirrell bound them with disappear. It shouldn't have resulted in her being exhausted magically. But since Harry drew on her magic, she was exhausted as well; which is why they were unconscious for three days; they were recovering together. And if I'm not wrong, their magic was still one, till a few minutes before Harry woke up. I think their minds were probably linked as well; they probably shared the same dreams when they were asleep. But this is mere conjecture on my part. It may not have been so- the linking of their minds," said Dumbledore.

Sirius gaped at Dumbledore and then turned to Remus, who had the same astounded expression on his face.

"So if they are together, they may be able to face Voldemort and defeat him, if and when he returns, won't they?" asked Sirius hesitantly.

"_When_ he returns, Sirius; I am sure he will return. But yes, Harry and Acquila will most probably be powerful enough to defeat Voldemort. You know what the prophecy says- Harry is going to be the one to finish Voldemort for good. But he will be able to do it with Acquila by his side. She is an extremely powerful witch, Sirius. And I think she gets it from your side of the family," he said, and Sirius snorted.

Thank Merlin Acquila inherited the Blacks' powerful magic, rather than their insanity. He would have loved Acquila just as much as he did now even if she had been a wee bit insane, but Sirius was glad his daughter wasn't another deranged Walburga. He snorted again as he thought of how he might have his crazy ancestors to thank, if Harry managed to beat Voldemort _with_ Acquila's help.

"That's good…but I don't like this…it's…what if they don't love each other in _that_ manner. I am not going to force them to be with each other…I am not going to do what my mother tried to do," said Sirius, remembering Walburga forcing him to get betrothed to a wealthy pure-blood Heiress.

"I'm not even telling you to get them married or betrothed, Sirius. And I have always believed in the power of love, over that of marriages made for forming family alliances or for financial reasons. And so, I will never tell you to get them together just because their souls are bound to each other. If all goes well, Harry and Acquila will fall in love. And I am sure Andromeda and Remus have told you of how much the children care for each other even at this young age. They have been the best of friends since they were eight, Sirius. They love each other, and you know that there have been times when Harry has put himself before danger to save Acquila, and vice versa," said Dumbledore benignly.

"But what if they don't fall in love with each other? What if they like other people? I am not going to force either of them to be with the other just because the bond can help defeat Voldemort…" said Sirius.

"They may fall for others, Sirius. But I trust the power of true love, and I am sure their souls will show them where their…"

"But…"

"Sirius," cut in Remus. "There are still at least a couple of years to go till Harry and Acquila start noticing the opposite gender. So, let's deal with it if and when the situation arises."

"Fine," huffed Sirius, and then turned to the Headmaster. "Is there another couple like them…whose souls are bonded?"

"Yes. There _was_ another such couple," came Dumbledore's reply.

"Was?" asked Sirius. "Who were they?"

"Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel."

"Holy Merlin! But…but they're gone? You said they have enough elixir to put their affairs in order…so aren't they alive? I want to talk to them…"

"I am sorry, Sirius. They have moved on to the afterlife. I received their last letter, just a few minutes before Remus and you entered."

"Why couldn't you have told me of this earlier, Dumbledore?" demanded Sirius. "I could have talked to them about this bond."

"The bond works in different ways for different couples, Sirius. The first people I spoke to when I knew of Harry and Acquila's bond were Nicolas and Perenelle. But what Nicolas told me, was that souls are bound in a different way. And it's for Harry and Acquila to discover the intricacies of the bond which they share. But in their will, they have mentioned a letter which they wish to give Harry and Acquila…"

"Where is it?"

"I do not know. Nicolas wrote that they would get it when the right time arrives," he replied.

"Merlin!" sighed Sirius. "Now is there anything else which you wish to tell me; anything I ought to know?" he asked Dumbledore, his grey eyes turning a shade darker as he stared into the Headmaster's blue eyes.

"No, Sirius," he replied. "Would you both wish to attend the Leaving Feast tomorrow?"

Remus and Sirius looked at each other, each remembering the last Leaving Feast they had attended, where they had played one of the biggest pranks ever.

"Yes!" they replied together, Sirius smirking mischievously.

"No pranks, Sirius," said Dumbledore slyly, stifling a smile as he remembered the roasted chickens kept for dinner on the House Tables suddenly coming to life, and scaring the younger students. The headless chickens had danced for five long minutes, and then the ones on the Slytherin Table had proceeded to throw chunks of gravy on the student's faces. A certain hook-nosed Slytherin's face especially, had been worth watching, as gravy slid down his greasy black hair, making it greasier than ever; and as the chickens started to attack him with forks and knives. The food fight that had ensued had been the biggest one ever at Hogwarts.

"Alright, alright," said Sirius, grinning; but his grin disappeared a moment later as he went back to thinking what Dumbledore had revealed.

...

The two children lay on adjacent beds in the Infirmary, each with their eyes shut, but with their minds whirring with thoughts.

Harry kept thinking of what Sirius had said. He couldn't believe his luck. A Dursley-free life! He hoped he wouldn't wake up and find out that it had all been a dream and he would have to go back to Privet Drive at the end of term. How many times had he wished for a long-lost relative to come and take him away from Privet Drive when he was a child! And now, finally, he would be free of them forever. He would have a family to live with; a _real_ family- with Sirius, Acquila, Aunt Andy, Uncle Ted, Dora, and even Remus.

And it was strange how he wasn't at all apprehensive of living with Sirius, who was quite unknown to him. It was probably because he was Acquila's father, and because Harry's parents had wanted him to stay with Sirius if something happened to them. His parents trusted Sirius; he was their best friend. And thus, Harry trusted him too.

When Harry had first come to Hogwarts, he had never thought he would want to go away from it during the holidays. But now, though he did consider Hogwarts a home of sorts, he was looking forward to the start of the vacations, when he could live with Sirius and Acquila.

Acquila, meanwhile, had her brow furrowed in thought as she finally opened her eyes, tired of feigning sleep. She had prayed for her parents almost everyday when she lived at the Orphanage. And each time a family came to adopt a child; she would wish that it was her own parents who had come to take her home; only to have her hopes dashed every single time. As years passed by, she had given up hope entirely. She had resigned herself to the thought that she was an orphan. Her parents had probably perished in an accident. She hadn't even wanted to consider the possibility of them having abandoned her. She remembered them in the photograph which she had had since she was a toddler- her sitting on the black-haired man's lap, with a young woman by their side; her parents. They had seemed so happy in the photograph. They wouldn't abandon her and leave her in an Orphanage, would they? Acquila had realised that the only parent-like figure she would have in her life would be Mrs. Smith.

But now, her father was back. Sirius Orion Black III. He was a free man. And she would live with him and Harry. And the thought of being an orphan no more, brought a fierce happiness to her. She would have a father like the others did. He would come to drop her at Kings' Cross Station like Lucius came to drop Draco. He would write her letters, and she would reply to each and every one of them, looking forward to the Owls which came flying into the Great Hall at breakfast each morning, hoping they brought a letter from her father as well. She finally had someone to call her own! Of course, she did have Harry and Aunt Andy and Dora, and even Draco and Uncle Ted. But none of them could match her joy of having a father. So why had the awkwardness descended on her suddenly? She had seen Harry hugging Sirius, and she thought she had heard them talking when a few minutes before she had woken up. How was it that Harry had managed to talk that freely with Sirius, when he was just his Godfather. And here, despite Sirius being Acquila's own father, she had become tongue-tied while talking to him.

"Acquila?" said Harry softly.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you remember when…when Quirrell cast that curse on you?"

Acquila shuddered involuntarily as she remembered the curse. Pain. Pain-greater than she had ever felt, greater than she ever imagined one could feel- had taken over her every inch of her body. It felt like there were millions of tiny needles pricking every nerve, every organ…she remembered screaming in pain, waiting for the torture to end. She remembered thinking that dying would have been better than going through the torment and agony of feeling like her entire being was on fire.

Harry stared worriedly at Acquila. She had seemed to have gone into a trance; her eyes were glazed as if she was thinking of something, her body was shivering.

"Acquila!" he exclaimed, but she didn't respond as she kept staring into space.

"Acquila!" he said again, but she seemed not to have been able to hear him.

He sat up gingerly, and threw aside the blankets Remus had covered him with, and managed to get off the bed and walk up to Acquila, ignoring the slight weakness which seemed to assail him.

"Acquila!" he said again, but she kept staring into space; till he finally took her hand into his and put his other hand on her cheek, hoping to rouse her from whatever it was that she was thinking. Her hand was cold to the touch.

"Are you alright?" he said, and she flinched and looked at him.

"Oh! Sorry…I was…yes, I am fine…"

"Stop lying, Acquila! You aren't fine! I know you were thinking of that…the Crucio…"

"Yes, I was," she cut in, her voice no more than a whisper; as she shifted aside to give Harry place to sit beside her; and sat up herself.

"It was horrible, Harry…I thought I would rather die than…"

"Hey!" he said softly. "I wouldn't have let you die, you know. And…and you don't need to worry about Quirrell or Voldemort…I don't think Sirius will ever let anything happen to you…or me for that matter…" he whispered.

She nodded, a tad unconvinced, but then said, "It felt like my entire body was on fire…like…"

"Like thousands of needles pricking you," he completed the sentence for her.

"How do you know?" she gasped, "Did he cast the curse on you as well?" she asked him urgently, gripping his hand even tighter.

"No, he didn't curse me. But I…I could feel your pain…" he said gravely.

"What!" she exclaimed loudly.

"Shhhhh!" he said. "Don't yell! I don't want Madam Pomfrey to come…"

"Sorry, sorry…but how did you feel my pain?"

"Like you felt my scar hurting?" he whispered, a not of fear in his voice.

"Oh yes," she muttered, remembering the number of occasions when she knew Harry had been in pain.

"But…but…why does that happen with us?"

"I don't know," muttered Harry in frustration. "I asked Dumbledore, but he said he doesn't know as well, said he would have to research on it."

Acquila rolled her eyes. Dumbledore not knowing something seemed too far-fetched.

"But I don't know…I thought he seemed like he was lying when he said he didn't know…"

"What about my…my father?"

"Sirius seemed shocked when I told them that I could feel your pain. And then he glared at Remus and at Dumbledore…but he said nothing about it…and why did you say 'my father'? Shouldn't you be calling him dad or something?"

"I don't know what to call him…and it's strange…having a father…"

"That doesn't mean you need to act awkward around him!" said Harry, rolling his eyes. "You were so formal with him!

"I don't know, Harry! I have all these questions in my mind that I want to ask him, so much I want to talk about, but when I see him my mind goes blank. It feels like it's a dream that he's actually here, in front of me and free," Acquila went on without stopping, "For ten years I believed my father to be dead and then most of last year, all I heard about him was that he was a mass murderer and he escaped to kill me and you…and now he's innocent… which I know I knew deep down. I have a _father_ and I can't really seem to digest it…"

"It's okay," replied Harry, giving her a one-armed hug. "You are just overwhelmed right now. You will get used to it soon."

"Hmm…so what about the Crucio thing? How do you think you felt it?" she asked him.

"I have no idea, Acquila. It's just…strange…"

"We'll ask Dora!" she said suddenly. "I'm sure she'll tell us. Or we'll ask Aunt Andy! I'm sure she'll ask Dumbledore about it if we tell her to," she said, suddenly feeling weak and leaning her head against Harry's shoulder.

"I think you should go to sleep, Acquila. We'll talk of this later," he said to her softly.

"Come on, lie down. I'll pull the blankets over you," he said, attempting to stand up.

But she grasped his wrist.

"Stay with me," she said in a small voice, sounding more like a child than she ever had.

"Alright," he smiled at her, and lay down on the bed beside her.

Acquila smiled. She didn't want to admit to Harry that she was scared of getting nightmares about Voldemort and the Crutiatus Curse. But somehow, having Harry next to her, made her feel safe. She scooted closer to him, craving for the warmth of his body, and he put his arm around her gingerly.

"Thank you, Harry," she whispered.

"Go to sleep, Acquila. I love you," he whispered back as her eyelids fluttered shut.

"I love you too," she smiled as both of them disappeared into the realm of sleep.

...

Sirius exited Dumbledore's office in a daze, with Remus following him. As they descended the staircase, they came across none other than Severus Snape.

"I never thought I would see such a morose expression on the face of the mighty Sirius Black. Where's the haughty smirk gone?"

Remus sighed. Of all the people they could run into, the fates had chosen Snape. He whipped out his wand, in case the argument between the two escalated into a duel, when Sirius replied, "Thanks to the fact that the only expression you're capable of sporting is your perpetual sneer, you seem to have lost the ability to differentiate between an pensive expression and a morose one!" the smirk Snape had referred to, back on his face.

"Black..." started Snape with a snarl, but Sirius interrupted him.

"I have better things to do than play out childhood rivalries, Snape. So save your snarky retort for another day. Come on, Remmy," he said and stalked away.

For a moment, Remus and Snape stared at Sirius' retreating figure in utter astonishment. Sirius Orion Black would never ever have let go of an opportunity to verbally spar with Severus Snape. Remus and Snape then looked at each other with the same bewildered expression, till Snape- realising that he had briefly shared the same astonishment as the werewolf had- collected himself, sneered at Remus, and walked towards Dumbledore's office. While Remus bounded after Sirius.

"Who are you and what have you done to Sirius Black?" he said to him.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Money," came the slightly vexed reply.

"But you've never let go of a chance to mock Severus! And you called him 'Snape'! Not 'Snivellus'!"

"As I said, I have better things to do than arguing with him. Now let's go to the Infirmary..."

"No! You're coming with me for a walk," said Remus.

"No, Mooney! I'm going back to the kids. What if they've woken up..."

"You've been cooped up in that room for the past four days, Padfoot. You need some fresh air. Come on now. Let's go to Hogsmeade. We'll take a walk."

"Alright," gave in Sirius.

...

Twenty minutes later, Sirius and Remus sat, panting for breath, in Remus' room at Hogsmeade.

"What the hell was that!" gasped Sirius, as Remus dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Don't you laugh at my expense, Mooney! You knew the reporters would be there, didn't you?" asked Sirius indignantly, though the corners of his mouth twitched into a tiny smile.

They had apparated from the apparition point at the edge of Hogwarts into Hogsmeade, only to have landed right into a barrage of reporters who seemed to have camped themselves in Hogsmeade, waiting to catch sight of Sirius, knowing he was in Hogwarts.

"I didn't know, Padfoot! I swear!" snickered Lupin, as he remembered the shocked look on Sirius' face as he apparated right on top of a female reporter from the Daily Prophet. The gathered reporters had proceeded to frantically question him about everything from his time in prison to his thoughts about dating and marrying again to the tattoos on his torso. And Sirius, after he got over his initial shock of being faced by a crowd of reporters, had declined to comment and walked away from them, only to have them all running after him, shooting one question after the other, till Remus, after finally taking pity on Sirius' hassled state, had grabbed his hand and apparated into his rented room.

"It was funny, Siri! The way the girl you landed on, refused to let go off you…ha ha…"

"Remus!" said Sirius warningly, and the werewolf finally shut up.

The two sat in silence, sipping the Butterbeer which Remus had brought. Remus finally looked at Sirius, who seemed deep in thought.

"Still thinking about the bond?" he asked him.

"Yes," sighed Sirius.

"It'll be alright, Padf…"

"How will it be alright? If…if something happens to Harry, she will die as well…and what if Acquila gets hurt? He will feel pain as well! Bloody bond! How the hell do such things happen to me? Ten years in Azkaban, my wife gets killed, my best friends get killed…and now when I'm finally back with my kids, I find out that my daughter and my godson are freakishly powerful children who share the bloody same soul!"

"Look at the bright side of it…"

"What bright side? And how the hell do I explain it to them? You think they won't ask us why that happened? You saw how Harry was, didn't you? He didn't seem convinced by Dumbledore's excuse of having to research about it…and if Acquila is anything like Athena, she won't rest till we tell her about why Harry felt the Crutiatus which was cast on her…or worse, she'll raid the library to find out about it…and I haven't even told Harry about the prophecy as yet…"

"You aren't telling him about it, Padfoot," said Remus calmly.

"Of course, I'm telling him! He deserves to know! And it pertains to him, Mooney! Of course I'm going to tell him!" replied Sirius.

"He's just a child! And he's already gone through so much! Let him live his life, let him be a child till he can…"

"Dumbledore put you up to this," said Sirius accusingly.

"No. He didn't 'put me up to this', but he did mention that he felt that this isn't the right time to tell the children either about the prophecy or about the bond. And I agree with him, Sirius. They aren't even in their teens yet. And they haven't really had the best of childhoods in the past decade. They need some happiness, Padfoot. They need what other kids have- a happy family, a caring father, and Quidditch and pranks and…"

"I get the point, Mooney," sighed Sirius. "But I don't like hiding things from them…especially now that I know how I feel when people hide things from me," he said pointedly, and Remus flinched slightly.

"Come on, Padfoot. I just wanted to…"

"It's alright, Remmy. Let's not talk about it anymore…I'm just worried about this bond business…I have nothing against Harry, believe me. But it's such an eerie thought…my daughter…my little Acquila sharing a soul with a boy…and…and I get all these weird thoughts about them…I mean, in the future…when they'll…"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Sirius," said Remus. "And as I told you, there are at least a couple of years to go for them to…to you know…grow up and…mature and begin to notice each other as more than just friends…"

"I know that, Mooney!" snapped Sirius. "But I just don't like it…"

"Just thank your fates that it's Harry whom she's bonded with! Imagine if it was someone like Draco Malfoy or…or Severus…"

"For heavens' sake, Mooney! Don't even utter the name of that greasy-haired git in the same sentence as my daughter! Ugh! I won't be able to sleep tonight! Acquila with the blonde-haired coward or with the…Ugh! Merlin!" Sirius shuddered, and punched Remus in the arm, as Remus guffawed.

"So now, you do realise how lucky you are that Acquila shares a soul with Harry and not someone like Malf…"

"I get it, I get it! You don't need to mention it again. I don't want nightmares tonight, Remmy!" said Sirius as Remus finally stopped laughing.

"And promise me that you won't glare at Harry when we see him; and don't overreact if he hugs Acquila or something like that…"

"Of course I won't, Mooney!" said Sirius indignantly. "I always thought of Harry as my own…even when James and Lily were…were alive. And since I've been acquitted, I thought we'll live as a family. I meant to try to be a good father to both Harry and Acquila. And now, it's just weird to think that they are soulmates…and it's not fair to either of them, is it? What if Harry falls for some red-headed girl like Prongs had? We can't just force him to be with Acquila for the bond. And what happens if _both_ of them fall in love with other people? Then what happens to the bond? To their souls? I mean…"

"Oh Padfoot! Enough of the bond now! Why don't we take each day as it comes? And all this is months away…we'll hopefully gauge how exactly the bond works till then…and you never know, Harry and Acquila might just fall in love with each other…and then everything will work out just fine!"

"I hope that happens," said Sirius.

"You do?" exclaimed Remus incredulously. "I thought you couldn't bear to think of Acquila with a guy," he smirked.

"Better Harry than some Slytherin! Dumbledore said Acquila gets her magical power from my side of the family. What if she falls for some bigoted git like some of my ancestors did? And Harry is a nice guy. And frankly, now that I think of it, I quite like the idea of my daughter being with Jamie's son! Athena and Lily would have loved it, you know…"

"I bet they would have started planning the wedding and deciding the names of your grandkids by now," said Remus wryly.

"As long as they name their first-born son after me! Imagine! Sirius James Potter!" said Sirius with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Why do I think it'll be James Sirius Potter?" said Remus slyly as Sirius huffed, but then said, "I don't mind that…another James Potter…"he trailed off, his eyes strangely glazed, and Remus knew that he was thinking of James again.

"Do you know the Weasley twins? The identical red-heads? Yes," replied Sirius, as he broke out of his reverie.

"They call Harry Acquila's knight in shining armour!"

"They do?" asked Sirius. "And how do you know if this?"

"Umm…well, Nymphadora told me…" muttered Remus.

"My cousin, Nymphadora?"

"How many Nymphadoras do you know, Sirius? It isn't a common name, is it?" muttered Remus, not meeting Sirius' eyes.

"And when did you talk to her?" asked Sirius, waggling his eyebrows mischievously.

"In the Hospital Wing… when you were asleep…" he said.

"My my! A romantic rendezvous in the Infirmary…"

"Come on, Padfoot! We were discussing Harry and Acquila, for Merlin's sake!"

"But she quite likes you, you know. I've seen her looking at you from the corner of her eyes. And noticed her hair turning a strange shade of red when…"

"Padfoot!" said Remus warningly. "If you tease me with your cousin, who must be half my age, I can reveal some things which you don't want known, to the children, you know? Like that day when Lily finally reached the end of tether and hexed you and Prongs so badly that you…"

"I get it! I get it!" said Sirius as he put up his hands. "I should have listened to Jamie when he said he wanted to obliviate that memory from your mind…"

"What! You both wanted to obliviate me?"

"Forget that. Even I have quite a lot of dirt on you, Remmy! Like a certain transfiguration attempt gone wrong, due to which you roamed around with a Donkey's tail for a week, till you finally got the courage to go to Poppy..."

"Alright, Padfoot! Lets' talk of something else," said Remus, his face slightly red in mortification on remembering the event.

"To my children," said Sirius, raising his glass of butterbeer for a toast.

"To Harry and Acquila," said Remus, raising his own glass.

"I wish you had something stronger, Remmy...like Firewhiskey..."

"Please, Padfoot," cut in Remus. "I do not want to carry you back to the Infirmary in a drunken stupor and in desperate need of a sobering draught. Madam Pomfrey will take my life if I bring you back in a less-than-normal state," he said and Sirius sighed morosely.

Remus sighed too as he remembered the fifteen-year old Sirius who had taken to drinking, when the situation at Grimmauld Place had worsened and Walburga had taken to using unforgivables on her elder son for not abiding by the family beliefs. Sirius had gone to stay at the Potters' mansion for part of the vacations after having managed to escape from Grimmauld Place. And James had told him of how Sirius used to disappear from Potter Mansion for hours on end and return back late at night, punch drunk, and smelling of Muggle alcohol. He had even refused to listen to James-whom he could never say no to-and had continued drinking; till one fine day, Dorea had had enough of seeing the boy she considered a son, wasting away day-by-day, and had a long chat with him. Nobody except her and Sirius knew of what she had said to him in the two hours that they spoke, but since that day, Sirius had given up alcohol for good, except for the occasional drink once in a while.

And the fact that Sirius was asking for a Firewhiskey now, had Remus worrying for his friend. There was no Dorea to wean Sirius away from alcohol now. And there was no James and no Athena. It would be Remus who would have to ensure that Sirius didn't turn to drinking to exorcise the ghosts of the past, and the fears for the future which plagued Sirius' mind.

"What if I'm a bad father, Mooney?" Sirius' unsure voice brought Remus out of his thoughts.

"You'll be a good dad, Padfoot," Remus replied confidently.

"I don't know...I've never raised kids this old...and I've never had a good example of how a father should behave from my own father..." he snorted.

"You'll learn with time. And your own father may not have set a great example, but I'm sure James' dad did."

"If I'm half as good a father to Harry and Acquila as Dad was to me, I'll be glad," said Sirius, who had taken to calling Charlus 'Dad' after he had started living with them for good.

"And speaking of the Potters, you can even live at Potter Mansion!" said Remus suddenly.

"I'll take Harry there. If he wants us to live there, I don't mind. But frankly, I wouldn't like living there...too many memories..." he trailed off.

"Okay. But you need to decide soon about where you're going to live..."

"About where we're going to live," corrected Sirius.

"What do you mean by 'we'?"

"I mean Acquila, Harry, you and me."

"But...but... I can't live with you all...you need time with the kids...and my affliction...the kids don't know of it..." sputtered Remus.

"No buts, Remmy! And you think Acquila and Harry are going to shun you because of your furry little problem? She's my daughter, and he's Jamie's son! There's no way that they're going to behave like bigoted gits!" said Sirius determinedly.

"But I couldn't possibly..."

"You can and you will, Remus John Lupin! I am not taking no for an answer!"

"I'll think over it," sighed Remus.

"Think as much as you want to, but you're staying with us. We've got ten years of catching up to do. And I need you, Remmy. I can't possibly take care of everything alone. And you love the kids. And you've been denied the chance to be with them for the past decade. You've got as much of a right to stay with them as I do. Please, Mooney!" said Sirius.

"Alright, but I need a couple of days to sort things out," he sighed.

"Thanks, Remmy," whispered Sirius and Lupin nodded as he drained the last of the butterbeer from his glass.

...

"Oh come on, Padfoot. They were so brave; both Acquila and Harry."

"I'm not denying that they were brave, Mooney. I didn't have half the courage Harry possesses, when I was his age. But we can't overlook the mistakes that they made," said Sirius, as he and Lupin walked to the Infirmary from the Hogwarts grounds, both under a disillusionment charm to avoid attention Sirius would have garnered.

"You're going into your Auror mode now," said Remus, a tad brightly, glad to see glimpses of the Sirius of old.

"Yes, I am. And I need to evaluate what happened in that room, so if Merlin forbid the kids face Voldemort again, they know what not to do!"

Remus nodded, as Sirius continued, "First mistake- they left the Invisibility Cloak in the room where the trapdoor lay. They should have taken it with them. It would have given them the upper-hand while facing Quirrell..."

"An element of surprise," interjected Remus. "You're right."

"And the second mistake," said Sirius, as they took off the disillusionment charm on reaching the corridor leading to the Hospital Wing, "Was Harry letting go off his wand when...what the hell!" he sputtered suddenly. "They...he's...they are sleeping together! She's clutching on to him and..."

"Calm down, Sirius," said Remus as the Animagus made to walk towards the sleeping children.

"They are kids, Siri. They are just sleeping," came Andromeda's voice from a corner of the room, where she sat beside Ted, and Nymphadora, who smiled brightly at them.

"That's exactly my point! They can't sleep on the same bed...like...I mean...it's just not done!" he exclaimed exasperatedly.

"I take it that you know of the Bond, Sirius," smirked Dora as she walked up to them.

"Yes, I know. But you know as well! Merlin! Even Andy and you hid it from me!" he shouted in outrage.

"Come on, Padfoot. Let that go," said Remus, as a guilty look came over Andromeda's face.

"Yes, forget that. I've got something more important to do...so do I pick him up and put him on his own bed or do I levitate him with my wand?" he muttered.

"You are going to do no such thing, Black. You cannot distress my patients!" came Madam Pomfrey's stern voice.

"_They_ are distressing _me_! And you are such a biased old lady, Poppy!"

"Whom are you calling old, Black! And I am not biased!" snapped the Nurse.

"Of course you are biased! Don't you remember the night when Athena was admitted here due the freak injury she suffered? I came here to comfort her! I slept by her side to…to give her my support! And you hexed _me_, saying that it's against the school rules for a boy and a girl to be sleeping in the same bed in the Infirmary!" he cried.

"Black," said Madam Pomfrey pointedly as the others laughed at his outburst. "You were seventeen, not eleven! And you were snogging McKinnon at three in the morning in her Hospital bed! And that was certainly against the rules!" she rolled her eyes. "While these two here, are mere children who are doing nothing of _that_ sort! And they seem to be recovering faster since they have been near each other, than they were recovering earlier, Black. So don't you dare move them apart!"

"Fine, fine," grumbled Sirius.

"So, Siri, have you decided about where you are going to live?" asked Andromeda, trying to take his attention away from the sleeping children; as Ted spoke to Remus.

"I think I'll stay at Black Manor. I told you about Aunt Cassiopeia's letter, didn't I?"

"But…you said you would stay at my house…Come on, Sirius! We have a lot to catch up on…"

"Yes! You have to stay with us, Siri," put in Nymphadora. "I want to spend time with Acquila and Harry…and you as well! At least for some days…"

"Alright. I'll talk about it with the kids. But I think our permanent place of residence will be Black Manor. The kids can perform magic in the holidays there without being traced by the ministry…and with what happened with Voldemort…they need to be taught advanced magic."

"You're right, Siri," agreed Andromeda.

"Hello, Harry! Did you sleep well?" said Ted suddenly, and the three of them turned towards Harry, who rubbed his eyes.

"Yes, Uncle Ted. I'm feeling much better now," replied Harry as he gently extricated himself from Acquila's arm to sit up and put on his glasses.

"How about I help you to your own bed, Harry?" said Remus with half a glance at Sirius.

"Okay. But I can walk…I'm feeling fine now…"

"That's for me to decide, Potter. Now lie down in your bed and let me give you a quick check-up," said Madam Pomfrey.

Fifteen minutes later, Acquila (who had woken up) and Harry sat in their respective beds, talking to Sirius and the others.

"It's agreed then!" said Sirius. "We'll stay at Andy's place for a couple of days, and then have a look at the other houses and then decide on where we want to live."

Nymphadora gave a smiling Harry a high-five, only for the smile to slide off his face a moment later when his gaze fell on the doorway to the room.

"Hello, Sirius," Narcissa inclined her head at her cousin.

"Hello, Narcissa," said Sirius, his voice falsely polite.

Narcissa spotted Andromeda and after a moment of hesitation and a small glance at Sirius, she nodded to her sister in acknowledgement, though she completely ignored Ted and Nymphadora.

"Acquila!" exclaimed a voice from the door; followed by the running of a pair of feet across the floor, and a blonde-haired boy rushing towards Acquila's bed.

Acquila hesitated only for a moment as she remembered that Draco and she hadn't been on talking terms; but the next moment, she held her arms out to Draco and he hugged her tightly.

"Malf…" started Sirius angrily, but he checked himself, on remembering his talk with Narcissa. How he wished to kick the boy out of the room. But then he remembered Narcissa's words, and willed himself to stop judging the boy for what his father was.

"How are you, Acquila? I am so sorry…I shouldn't have stopped talking to you…or I would have stopped you from going after Quirrell and then you wouldn't be lying here…" said Draco in a single breath, as Acquila hushed him. "I'm alright, Draco! And it isn't your fault. And I wouldn't have let Harry go in there alone anyway…and I'm fine now…"

"This is all because of you, Potter!" he spat at Harry, his grey eyes glinting at him with utmost detestation.

As Sirius and Harry made to protest, a single 'Draco' from Narcissa in a warning tone, made Draco shut up, but only after casting another glare at Harry.

"I think we'd better leave now," said Ted, as he ruffled Harry's hair.

"Yes, Ted. We'll see you three the day after tomorrow," replied Andromeda, after placing a kiss each on Acquila and Harry's cheek.

"See you tomorrow at the Leaving Feast, kiddos," exclaimed Dora, as she hugged Harry and winked at Acquila and Sirius.

"Goodbye," said Narcissa softly to Andromeda who replied with a nod; and the three members of the Tonks family departed.

"I should be leaving as well, Padfoot," said Remus and left after hugging Sirius and giving both the kids a pat on their heads.

"How are you, Acquila?" asked Narcissa, as she daintily sat on the chair beside Acquila's bed; while Draco sat at the foot of her bed.

"I'm fine, Aunt Narcissa," replied Acquila, though her mind was whirring with thoughts. Would the Malfoys still want her guardianship? They couldn't take her away from her father, could they?

"I regret that you will not be spending your vacations at Malfoy Manor now that Sirius is a free man; but I want you to know that you will always be welcome to spend time with us at the Manor," said Narcissa, and Acquila felt a sudden relief spread through her.

Sirius meanwhile sat beside Harry, talking to him about something in low tones.

"So…so you really won't stay with me?" asked Draco in a small voice.

"Umm…I can…maybe for a few days during the vacations," she replied, not wanting to hurt Draco's feelings, but she didn't really want to go to the Manor again.

"Or," she exclaimed suddenly, "Why don't you come to stay with us? When we decide on where to live," she said, oblivious to Harry's jaw dropping in shock.

"Will I…will I have to spend the vacations with Malfoy, Sirius?" he whispered, revolted at the thought of having to spend time with the Slytherin.

"Oh no, Harry…" started Sirius, but Acquila heard him.

"What do you mean by 'no'? Draco is my cousin! He's my friend! Why can't he spend some days with us?" she exclaimed.

"Because I'm not having Lucius Malfoy's spawn in my house!" growled Sirius, as Harry let a small sigh of relief, while Narcissa's eyes seemed colder, and Draco's face fell in disappointment.

"Sirius," said Narcissa, "you said you won't judge Draco for my husband's actions…"

"I just said I will think over it, Cissy! And I let your son talk to my daughter, didn't I? But, him living with my kids at my house? No…"

"What do you mean you 'let him talk to me'? You can't decide whom I _can _talk to and whom I cannot!" snapped Acquila, her eyes darkening with anger.

"Acquila! He's your dad," exclaimed Harry, astonished at Acquila's outburst, and fully agreeing with Sirius.

"So what?" shouted Acquila, as the two Malfoys looked at the two Blacks.

"What do you mean by 'so what'? I am your _father_! And you will not talk to me in this tone! And I know what is good for you and what isn't! Lucius Malfoy killed Athena's parents! He killed your Aunt Marlene with the killing curse! And you want the son of your grandparents' murderer to stay with us?" he shouted furiously.

"I _know_ that! I know all of that! But it was Draco's dad who did it! Not Draco! Why don't you understand that!" she shouted back at her father.

"Don't you raise your voice at me!" snarled Sirius, advancing towards Acquila, but Harry tugged at his hand.

"Just let her be…she'll…she'll calm down…" he said urgently, not wanting the father-daughter duo to argue.

Sirius glared at Acquila, and she glared back at him just as furiously, till she finally looked away and looked at Draco.

"Don't you worry, Draco. You _will_ come to spend some of the holidays with me. Or if he doesn't allow that, I am sure I can come to your Manor for a couple of days," she said, with a smirk in Sirius' direction.

"What the hell!" growled Sirius. "You will do no such thing!"

"Then he will stay with us," she said adamantly.

"I will think of it," he muttered.

"That's good enough for me," she exclaimed brightly and Narcissa smiled smugly. Never had she thought that Acquila would have the courage to stand up to Sirius, who had inherited much of the Blacks' temper. But the Black Heiress was indeed someone who would take nothing lying down; much like Bella, who had been just like Acquila at this age.

"So," said Draco sheepishly, as Harry grumbled, "you'll come for the Leaving Feast tomorrow, won't you? Slytherin won!" he said, with a triumphant look at Harry.

"Yes, we are coming for it," replied Acquila; as Draco smirked at Harry, who had a strong urge to wipe the smirk off his face.

"No more visitors now. The kids need to have their dinner," said Madam Pomfrey as she led an elf into the room with two plates piled with food.

"Lets' go, Draco," said Narcissa, as she kissed Acquila on the cheek. Draco did the same, as Sirius bristled angrily.

"I hope to see you again soon, Cousin Sirius," she said to him after kissing him on his cheek. He smiled politely at her in reply, curbing the sudden childish urge to stick his tongue out at her, like he did when they were kids.

"You will always remain my friend, won't you, Acquila?" muttered Draco suddenly in a barely-audible whisper, which Sirius could hear thanks to his Animagus abilities.

"Of course, I will, Draco. You are one of my best friends. And you'll always remain so," she said, grasping his hand.

"Thank you," he said and followed Narcissa to the door.

"Mister Potter?" said Narcissa suddenly, turning behind to look at Harry. He looked at her in bewilderment. What did Narcissa Malfoy want to talk to him about?

"Yes?" he replied.

"I hope you recover soon, as well," she said and walked away with her son, without a backward glance.

"Why did she…" Harry was cut off by Madam Pomfrey: "No more talks, Potter! Start eating! You too, Black!" she said as both Acquila and Sirius looked at her.

"I meant you Black junior here. As for you," she said to Sirius, "you need to eat as well, but half an hour after you take these potions. And tomorrow morning, I will discharge all three of you…I didn't want to, but the Headmaster insists that he wants you all to attend the Leaving feast. I don't understand how a stupid feast is more important than my patients' well-being," she grumbled.

Sirius gulped down the potion she gave him and then stalked away after a terse 'I'll be back' to the kids.

"Why were you so rude to him?" snapped Harry after they had finished wolfing down the food hungrily, and after the Nurse had left the room.

"He is trying to control my life!" she replied. "He can't tell me what to do and what not to do! Was he there for me in the last ten years? He can't suddenly come into my life and start dictating my actions!"

"He's your father! And he loves you! Didn't you see the way he hugged you when you woke up? Didn't you see the affection in his eyes? Didn't you see the way he looked longingly at them, when Dora hugged Uncle Ted when he joked about something? He's your dad! And he wants a relationship with you like Dora has with Uncle Ted! You can't just yell at him like that!"

Acquila stared at Harry. She never knew that Harry was this adept at deciphering people's thoughts and emotions.

"I know he loves me," she muttered. "But Draco is my friend, he's my cousin…and I can't just stop talking to him because _he_ says so," she continued; still not comfortable with referring to Sirius as 'dad'.

"God!" sighed Harry. "Look, I can't really discuss this Draco matter with you, because you know that Draco and I can't see eye to eye on anything. And I myself am not looking forward to spending time with him, which I will have to, if he lives with us. But all I can say is that I think you should apologise to Sirius. I mean, I don't think kids yell at their parents like that…unless you're Dudley," he muttered in an undertone.

"Fine," she grumbled, inwardly wondering what had got into Harry.

"So, do you want to sample a few of the sweets the Gryffindors sent us?" he grinned and threw a toffee at her, which hit her right on her head.

"Ouch! That hurt!" she exclaimed, rubbing her forehead.

"Well, that should knock some sense into your head," he replied cheekily, and she threw her pillow at him in reply, knocking his chocolate frog out of his hand.

"Hey!" he cried indignantly, throwing the pillow back at her, leading to a frenzied pillow-fight.

...

"She did what?" chuckled Remus, as he sat opposite Sirius in his room in Hogsmeade.

"Don't laugh, Mooney! She threatened to stay with the Malfoys for a couple of days if I refuse to let that blonde-haired brat stay with us!"

"Ha ha! She gets that from you, Padfoot!" sniggered Remus, and then maintained a straight face on seeing Sirius glare at him.

"She's so bloody stubborn! She's like Athena!"

"Is that so? Then why is it that I remember Lily calling you the most stubborn person she knew?"

"Fine! She gets it from me! Happy? But she yelled at me!" he grumbled.

"She's a child, Sirius. And she has never had experience of how to deal with a father. And hadn't Andromeda told you that she's quite close to Draco? You shouldn't have said all that…"

"That doesn't mean she can threaten me!"

"Just calm down. And go back to Hogwarts and talk to her calmly…"

"I don't like that boy! Even Harry doesn't!"

"Oh my! So now you are taking your future son-in-law's opinion into account?" smirked Remus.

"Don't make me hex you, Remmy! Unless you want to walk around with long pink hair like you did in fourth year…that's not a bad idea, actually. A certain cousin of mine would love to morph her hair to match yours," he grinned teasingly.

"Padfoot," growled Remus warningly, and Sirius stood up to go back to Hogwarts, the grin still etched on his face.

Remus sighed. With two people with relatively short tempers, sparks were bound to fly in the coming months between the two Blacks.

...

"Where were you Black?" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey as Sirius entered the room an hour and a half later.

"I was with Minnie McGonagall; she had called me to have dinner with her," he replied, transfiguring his clothing back into the hospital robes.

"Alright. But you should at least have informed me," she muttered. "And after they wake up, tell your daughter and Godson that they aren't allowed to have pillow fights in the Infirmary again. I did scold them, but you should warn them as well, since I am sure you remember what I did to you and Potter senior when you both attempted a fight despite my warnings," she said sternly.

"Okay, Poppy. I'll tell them," he smirked, as he remembered that night.

"Goodnight, Black. Sleep well. I've given them both Dreamless sleep Potions. I do not want any nightmares they have interfering with their sleep. Do you need some as well?"

"No, thank you. Good night, Poppy," she smiled.

Sirius walked up to Harry's bed.

"Jamie…just like Jamie," he whispered as he brushed Harry's messy hair off his forehead, sighing when he saw the lightening scar.

"I hope I can be a good father to your son, Jamie," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "I'll love him as much as I love Acquila. I already do. And I'll try my best to keep him safe from Voldemort, even if I have to give up my own life in the process."

He thought he heard James' voice saying 'Thank you', but that was probably his own imagination.

He then moved to Acquila. She looked so innocent in her sleep.

"I love you, sweetheart," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

She groaned in her sleep.

"I'm sorry, dad," she mumbled, and then turned on to sleep on her stomach.

"It's alright, love," he said and then went towards his own bed.

Perhaps, there would be no nightmares tonight, now that his children were well. He cast a silencing charm around his bed nevertheless; and fell into a fitful sleep, occasionally interspersed with dreams of Dementors, corpses and two smiling toddlers.

...

"I'm not really looking forward to going to Gryffindor tower," sighed Acquila after Harry and she had been discharged from the Hospital Wing the next morning. Sirius had been discharged as well, and would be staying at one of the Guest rooms in the Castle that night, since they would all be leaving for the Tonks' house the next day. She had muttered an awkward apology to him, and he had waved it off after giving her a tight hug.

"Why?" Harry asked her.

"Didn't you listen to Hermione and Ron? Everyone keeps asking them about the trapdoor adventure and also about da.. I mean my father," Acquila finished awkwardly.

"Come on, Acquila! Just call him 'Dad'!" retorted Harry in a slightly snappy tone. Why couldn't Acquila realise how lucky she was to have a father who loved her so much.

"I'm sorry," muttered Acquila sheepishly. She knew that seeing her with Sirius was possibly reminding Harry of James, whom he would never see or talk to.

"But I really am dreading going back to the Tower. They will all ask me about _Dad_…and I am in no mood to answer all their questions!"

"It'll be fine. Don't answer them if you don't want to. And Ron and Hermione said the most of the school knows what happened down there with Quirrell…." He trailed off as they reached the Portrait Hole, where the Fat Lady started questioning Acquila about Sirius' whereabouts.

"Where's he?" she asked them in a dreamy voice.

"Who he?"

"Sirius, of course!" she replied.

"Oh him! He's in one of the Guest rooms…Hey! Wait! Where are you going? Get back here! We want to go in!" Harry screamed as the Fat Lady flitted through the adjacent portraits.

"Here!" she snapped as she came back and opened the door to let them through. "I haven't seen him since years! And now that he's innocent, I just _have _to meet him!" she giggled.

"But how will people get into the tower! Come back!" Acquila yelled, but the Fat Lady had already hurried away, running through the line of portraits.

"Did she…did she really blush when she mentioned my father! What is wrong with her!" shrieked Acquila, and Harry had the mad urge to snicker. Ron had told him of how the girls in the Castle were going gaga over Sirius, without even having seen him yet. The Portraits and the ghosts had apparently spread the word far and wide that Sirius was quite a heartthrob in his days at the Castle, with his aristocratic looks and charm. And Harry was sure that the Fat Lady wasn't the only one who was drooling over Sirius.

"Hey! Welcome back!" cried Hermione on spotting them and hugged both of them together.

"Thank Merlin Madam Pomfrey discharged you! Or you would have missed the Leaving Feast! The food is supposed to be even better than that at the Halloween feast!" Ron exclaimed, a hungry look on his face.

Nyx came running down the stairs of the Girls' dormitory and flew into Acquila's arms.

"My little feline! I missed you so much!" Acquila cooed as she planted kisses on the cat's furry face; as Ron looked on in utter disgust.

"My father told me that you used to meet him often. Thank you so much for helping us, dear! You are such a smart little cat!" she said as she hugged the cat tightly and then set her down on the floor. Nyx then walked past Ron, giving him what could be supremely smug look, and then purred loudly 'Meaow meaow meaowwww!'

"Your cat…she…she swore at me…she called me names…" sputtered Ron.

"Oh Ron! Don't tell me you know the language of cats!" smirked Hermione as Harry chuckled.

"My cat did no such thing! And she doesn't swear!" said Acquila indignantly.

"But…but..did you see the look she gave me? See! She's still smirking at me!" he said, pointing at Nyx whose bright green eyes were looking only at Ron.

"Oh come off it, Ron," said Hermione, as Nyx bounded up the stairs after giving Ron one last glare as a dozen Gryffindors crowded around Harry and Acquila and started asking them questions.

"What is he like? Sirius Black?" asked Dean.

"Did he tell you how he escaped?" Seamus questioned them, just as Harry was about to reply to Dean.

"Does he still look as handsome as my mom said he did?" Lavender asked Acquila, looking starry eyed. "They were in the same class, you know."

Acquila huffed at her and turned to Neville, who was asking her about her health. They answered a few more questions and ignored some others; but Fred and George were another story.

"I bet he has a dragon tattooed on bicep!" declared Fred.

"No, no! I'm sure it's the Gryffindor lion! I bet you five galleons," put in George. "So which one is it?" he asked Acquila and Harry.

None of them answered.

"Acquila? Harry?"

"We didn't really get to see his biceps since he was clad in full-sleeved robes all the time," answered Harry.

"Alright, alright! We'll just have to ask him ourselves then. How about it, Forge?"

"Definitely, Gred!" smirked the twin, as Hermione glared at them, about to lecture them on the bad example they were setting to the others by betting; when the door to the Common Room opened. And Sirius came in, accompanied by Remus.

_..._

_A few minutes earlier,_

"I never thought we would be sitting in Hogwarts again," said Sirius. "I still can't believe I'm free. I keep on feeling that the Aurors will come barging in any moment and take me Azkaban again."

"They won't, Padfoot. That is definitely not going to happen. Now the only people who'd barge in will either be reporters trying to get your interview, or a group of women wanting to fawn over you," said Remus.

"You are right," grinned Sirius. And then, his smile changed to a smirk.

"Do you remember the last time we were here in the guest rooms?" he asked Remus.

"Of course I do! That night was unforgettable!" Remus said, his amber eyes bright as he thought of that night.

_"Okay! It's almost done! Just tell me what password we should keep!" exclaimed James, holding a parchment with small black dots moving through a map of Hogwarts._

_"Open!" squeaked Peter. _

_"Yes, Peter. To open the map," said James, as if he was explaining it to a small child. _

_"I mean, the password should be 'Open'," Peter clarified._

_"Seriously, Peter! That is not a password. At that rate anyone will 'open' it," said Sirius, a tad irritated._

_"How about 'Mortal Peril'?" said Remus._

_"You are always so morbid, Remmy," whined James._

_This continued for another hour and they were nowhere close to coming to a common consensus on what the password should be._

_"It should be 'doorways of good conduct'," James said in a majestic voice._

_"That is the worst suggestion since Peter suggested 'Open'," retorted Sirius._

_"Yes! I don't think we've done anything that falls in the realm of 'good conduct' till date; especially Sirius here," responded Remus, with a smirk at Sirius.._

_"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," Sirius said, with a smirk of his own. _

_"What? You want us to swear an oath that we are up to no good? Start some kind of brotherhood?" James asked in confusion._

_"No, Jamie," said Sirius with a roll of his grey eyes. "This will be the password! How about it?" _

_"Yes!" The rest of them echoed._

_"It's perfect!" James exclaimed, and he performed the charm on the map with a wave of his wand, setting the password._

_"And what will be the code to blank out the parchment?" asked Remus._

_"Mischief Managed!" James said smugly._

_"Wondeful!" Sirius said approvingly._

_After James was done with the charms for the passwords, Sirius pointed his wand at the map which currently just looked like a blank parchment and said 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good'; and the parchment came to life as Peter applauded loudly._

**_"Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs; Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers, are proud to present THE MARAUDER'S MAP"_**

_After coming to know of Remus' 'furry little problem' just a year ago, the three of them had decided to become Animagii to accompany Remus on his full-moon adventures, and the first step was to find out what their Animagus forms were going to be. All they had to do was drink the potion mentioned in the book 'Ani-magic- The easiest way to become an Animagus', which James had snuck out of his father's library. _

_After they had made the potion using stolen ingredients from Slughorn's stores, the three of them had pictured their Animagus forms in their mind's eye. Sirius was a huge black dog, and they decided to call him 'Padfoot'. James was a Stag; whom they named 'Prongs'. All of them had laughed at a very red Peter when he had revealed his Animagus form – rat. And they had nicknamed him 'Wormtail', much to his chagrin. _

_They could see hundreds of labeled dots all around the castle._

_"It works!" squealed Peter._

_"It indeed does!" said Remus in an awed whisper._

_"Mischief Managed!" James said and the map turned to a blank parchment again._

_"Finally, after three long years, it's complete!" he said, as they huddled into a group hug to celebrate._

_Since Sirius and James had found their first secret passage in the castle during their second day of their first year, they'd decided to map out the whole of Hogwarts. They'd shared their idea with Remus and Peter, their room mates; and all four of them had worked on it in their free time. _

_Peter ventured through the castle and helped with the mapping of hallways, staircases, dormitories of all the houses (It was quite easy to follow someone from another house to their dormitories under an invisibility cloak), secret passages, etc. _

_Remus pain-stakingly drew the map onto the parchment magically so that the map would show every detail of the Castle including the moving staircases and the trick stairs. It hadn't been an easy task. After attempting to draw it loads of times, he had finally got it right in the ninth try._

_James and Sirius researched a lot on charmed maps; so that the Map would show everyone in the castle with their respective names and whereabouts. They went through all the books in the charms section of the Hogwarts library and also the Black and Potter libraries during their vacations. They finally found the charms required and practised them on rough sketches of Hogwarts, and once they were perfected, Sirius performed the charms on the final Map. He had it charmed so, that the map would never lie and would show the true name of the person, even if he/she was under Polyjuice Potion, or an Animagus, or under an Invisibility Cloak or under any other disguise; even the ghosts weren't exempt. _

_James charmed the map to show the passwords to the secret passages; and he had also performed a tricky little charm which had somehow managed to put a bit of each Marauder into the Map. And anyone who attempted to cast a charm on the Map to reveal itself would be faced with witty remarks from each Marauder, which would appear on the map in shining ink. All of this had required pretty advanced magic, but the Marauders were known to do the impossible. _

_After three years of work, they had finally accomplished it! All they had to do now, was give it a trial run. All four of them huddled under the invisibility cloak and took off towards the guest rooms. The band-members of the 'Weird Sisters' were occupying the rooms. The band consisted of eight men who were Hogwarts Alumni, and they had come to perform at the Farewell Ball for the seventh years. And they were put up in the Guest room._

_The guest room was near the kitchens, at the other end of the corridor from the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room. The four Marauders made their way slowly from the Gryffindor tower down the staircase continuously peering into the map. The trip stairs and moving staircases were perfectly depicted. They saw Peeves zooming towards them in the map and as they looked up, they saw him zooming over their heads, singing a vulgar version of 'This is the night', a song which the band had performed._

_They came across the sixth-year prefects doing their rounds, since it was after curfew. They spotted Frank and Alice's dots on the map in a broom closet on the fifth floor and burst open the door to scare them. Obviously they couldn't see the four of them and they heard Frank blaming Peeves for the prank as they walked further down the corridor trying hard not to laugh. _

_They finally reached the entrance to the Guest room which was next to a portrait of steaming hot tea. The Guest room was one of the only places in the Castle- apart from the entrances to a few secret passages- whose password would be seen on the Map._

_A small flick of James' wand, and a bubble appeared on the map near the entrance of the Guest Room, which read 'Hippogriff'. Sirius said the password out loud and the door immediately creaked open. They jumped in celebration and the invisibility cloak slid off them. James gathered the cloak and they entered the guest room to check it out. _

_A few minutes later, Remus who had the map said in a panicked voice, "Look the band-members are coming back from the ball! They are already near the kitchens!"_

_Immediately, the four of them huddled under the invisibility cloak and then Peter screamed pointing at the map._

_"They are just outside the door!"_

_And just then the door opened and the eight men stepped in._

_"I can't believe we were called to perform at the ball here!" said Heathcote Barbary, the guitar player._

_"Yeah, mate! It's just our fist album, and we are already famous!" said Myron Wagtail, the lead singer._

_The Marauders had to wait till each of the band members went to sleep, before they could leave. Since the door was closed, they couldn't open it as it wouldn't have gone unnoticed. They stood there in the corner of their room and got to hear a first-hand account of all their gossip. _

_A few hours late,r when they returned to the common room the first rays of light were already piercing through the clouds._

_"We are never doing this again!" Remus exclaimed, as Peter nodded his head vigorously in agreement._

_"We are _definitely_ doing this again! The best night ever! I always knew that Kirley Duke was dating Orchedia Nott! And to hear it straight from the Horse's mouth!" guffawed Sirius_

_"Wait till I tell Lily about Donaghan Tremlett getting engaged to Celestina Warbeck! She's a big fan! She'll love it!" said James, grinning from ear to ear. "You think she'll say a 'yes' to me for the next Hogsmeade weekend out of happiness at Celestina's wedding?"_

_"The next Hogsmeade visit is next year, Prongsie! Our third year is almost at an end," Remus pointed out._

_"Jamie! When are you going to stop pursuing Evans? You've tried the entire year!" muttered Sirius, shaking his head._

_"I'm going to try till she says yes. And this time I'm sure she will," James said, with smug confidence._

"I'm glad James didn't stop pursuing Lily," Sirius said, breaking Remus out of his thoughts.

Remus hummed in agreement.

"Hey! Do you think the map is still with Filch?" exclaimed Sirius, his eyes gleaming, the way they did when he was planning a prank.

"I think so. Why?" asked Remus, knowing very well where this was going.

"Let's steal it from his office!" replied Sirius excitedly.

"No, Padfoot! We are adults now. We can't steal. And besides what are you going to do with it? We aren't in school anymore. "

"Gift it to Acquila and Harry, of course! I am going to train them to be the next generation of the Marauders!"

"What? As if they don't get into enough adventures already, you are going to incite them to break more rules and create more mischief? "

"Come on, Mooney! They will enjoy their school life like we did! Don't you want them to enjoy?" Sirius said slyly.

"Alright. But how are we supposed to sneak in?"

"The Invisibility Cloak! We just have to borrow it from Harry," said Sirius, and they set out for Gryffindor Tower.

As they walked across the corridor, they bumped into Nymphadora who was returning to her common room.

"Wotcher, cousin o' mine? You're coming for the feast tonight, aren't you?" she asked them.

"Yes, I am. And so is Remmy," winked Sirius, as Remus groaned inaudibly.

"You need a makeover, Sirius," she said firmly. "You need to look handsome tonight. Some of my friends are dying to see you," she winked.

"Merlin! Not this again! I don't know what's wrong with the witches around me," groaned Sirius.

"Oh come on, Siri! Look at you- unkempt hair, shaggy beard- you need to look a respectable father, not like the people who frequent Knockturn Alley…"

"How do you know of the type of people who frequent Knockturn Alley, Nymphie?" exclaimed Sirius.

"Went there on a dare…never you mind," she muttered.

"And don't call me 'Nymphie'!" she said in a louder voice.

"On a dare! Ah! You make me proud, my little Nymph!"

"Padfoot!" gasped Remus. "Don't encourage her! She shouldn't go there! It's a dangerous place!"

"Oh, Mooney! Ever the concerned gentleman," winked Sirius and Remus sighed.

"Now, now, Sirius, how about this?" said Nymphadora and scrunched up her face in concentration. And a minute later, in place of Nymphadora stood a handsome Sirius Black, with his pruned hair falling onto his shoulders gracefully, his jaw clean-shaven and a Sirius-like smirk on his face; but his eyes did not hold the emptiness which dwelled in the real Sirius' grey orbs.

"Don't you do that again, Nymphie! It's such a freaky thing! Me…in a girl's robes! And Hufflepuff ones at that! Change back, change back this very instant!" shrieked Sirius, as Remus sniggered.

The younger Sirius had an irate expression on his face, when Sirius said the Hufflepuff part.

"And take that expression off your face…I mean my face!" he yelled, and a guffawing Nymphadora morphed back to her original form.

"So? How did I look? I mean…you look, apart from the robes?"

"Quite handsome, but I was always a handsome lad, wasn't I?" smirked Sirius. "I'll do it!"

She rolled her eyes and turned to Remus.

"You are coming too, right?" she asked in a softer tone. "Now, _you_ don't need a makeover. You are quite good-looking as you are," she said, and blushed slightly and bounded off into the Hufflepuff Common Room.

Remus looked bewildered as he nodded his head awkwardly at Dora's retreating figure, while Siirus tried to curb his laughter.

"My my, Remmy! Looks like you've got an admirer," Sirius teased his friend, after Tonks had left.

"It's just a school girl crush! Nothing else!" Remus said, waving it off.

"She likes you, Mooney!"

"No! And don't you encourage her, Padfoot. She doesn't know what I am. And besides, she's too young."

"Circe's wand! You always come back to the same thing! Leave your furry problem aside for once!"

Remus glared at him and Sirius immediately raised his hands up in defeat, "Okay! Okay! I won't encourage her. If she asks me about you I'm going to say that you are highly addicted to Firewhiskey and are known to frequent places which a gentleman would never visit!" sniggered Sirius.

Remus glared at him some more, and Sirius went into fits of laughter.

They finally reached the Fat lady.

"Ah! Here you are! I was looking for you all over the castle! Till Violetta told me that you were on your way here!" she gushed and Sirius winked at her cheekily.

"I'm glad to see you too, my dear lady!" he waggled his eyebrows mischievously. "Now, will you let us in?"

"Oh!" she sighed. "I'm afraid not. You need to tell me the password."

"Come on, dear. You're looking exceptionally lovely today. And I can't argue with such a charming lady, can I?" he smirked and the Fat Lady blushed, her cheeks tinged pink; and Remus rolled his eyes. Trust Sirius to charm even a centuries-old portrait.

"I just want to meet my daughter, you know. We've been apart for ten long years," Sirius said suddenly, a morose expression on his face.

"Umm…When you put it like that…fine…I'll let you in...but only because you said you want to meet Acquila, " the Fat lady said, as she opened the door.

"Thank you, my lady," Sirius said, bowing deeply as the Fat Lady giggled; while Remus stared at her in bewilderment. It was strange seeing that Sirius still had his charming streak intact after spending a decade in Azkaban.

Just as they entered, the Weasley twins came up to Sirius and asked him, "Do you have a tattoo of a dragon?"

"Or a Gryffindor Lion?"

"On your arm!" Both of them chorused.

Sirius just blinked at them for a moment, and then he laughed.

"I'm letting that remain a secret," he said and patted both of them on their back. The twins reminded Sirius of himself as a kid.

Acquila and Harry came running to him as the Gryffindor students gathered around him, awestruck.

"It's Sirius Black!"

"Angie! Come here! Sirius Black! In the Common Room!"

"Mister Black!"

"Wow! He's handsome! Look at his eyes!"

"He looked much better when he was younger!"

Sirius stared at the crowd around him, backing away till he spotted Harry.

"I need to talk to you privately," he muttered, and Harry dragged him and Remus to his dormitory, with Acquila following him, after telling the other students to give them some privacy.

"What happened?" Acquila asked him when they entered the dormitory.

"Nothing to worry about, love," Sirius said gently.

"We just wanted Harry's invisibility cloak," put in Remus.

"For what?" Acquila asked, a demanding expression on her face, reminiscent of Athena; as Harry pulled out the glimmering cloak from his pocket.

"We have some unfinished business. We'll tell you once we've got the thing that we need," Sirius grinned.

"What is it? Maybe we can help you!" Harry exclaimed, excited all of a sudden.

"You will know if we succeed. We are gifting it to you two, so it's a surprise," smiled Remus, as Acquila and Harry's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Then I hope you succeed," said Acquila; and they heard the door creak open. Sirius stuffed the cloak in his pocket quickly.

A plump boy entered; he looked at Sirius and his eyes widened.

"I'll come back later," Neville said, and made to leave.

"You are Neville Longbottom, aren't you?" Sirius asked him, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

"Ye…yes," Neville stammered.

"You look so much Alice," said Sirius.

"You knew my mom?" Neville asked in wonder, but then his eyes darted to Harry and Acquila; and Sirius realised that they probably didn't know of Alice and Frank's situation.

Sirius led him to a corner of the room, all the while feeing Acquila's eyes on his back.

"I knew both, Frank and Alice. They were Aurors like I was. And Frank was second in command in my Auror team. He led us against Death-Eaters in three missions…I'm sorry to hear about them," Sirius whispered.

"It's okay. You don't need to say sorry," Neville muttered, staring at the carpet.

"Though I have always hated her, Bellatrix is my cousin…and…"

"No. It's alright…" said Neville, looking close to tears. Noticing that Neville didn't seem to want to continue the topic, Sirius said, "You live with Madam Augusta, don't you?"

Neville nodded his head.

"She sent me a letter inviting me to your house. I look forward to it," said Sirius, smiling.

And Neville flashed a small smile in return.

"See you kids at the feast!" said Sirius and followed Remus to the door.

They put on the cloak once they reached the corridor outside Filch's office, when no one was looking.

"Merlin! I can see my feet!" sighed Remus. "We don't fit in this anymore."

"We'll just have to crouch and walk," Sirius replied, crouching a bit.

"We can't walk like this into his office! I can still see our feet peeking out from time to time," muttered Remus.

"Yes! Our feet look creepy without bodies," Sirius said, making a face as he crouched even more in an attempt to cover the tips of his boot-clad feet.

They made their way through the corridor to his office. As they tried to open the door, Filch came out along with his cat. Mrs. Norris started circling Sirius and Remus, sniffing them.

"What is it, sweetpea?" Filch asked his cat. "Is someone around, my sweet?" he asked as he looked around.

"It's no one, dear," he said after looking around and picked her up as she screeched.

After Filch was gone they entered his office using 'Alohomora' and started searching through drawers immediately.

"Whew! That was close," said Remus.

"Mooney! You are forgetting that we aren't students here anymore. He couldn't have given us detention even if we wanted to," grinned Sirius.

They searched through all the drawers and cupboards but couldn't find the map anywhere. They even tried to summon it but to no avail.

"You think Filch destroyed it?" muttered Remus, flinching at the thought of their precious Map having been destroyed.

"Merlin knows! I wanted to gift it to them," said Sirius dejectedly.

"We can teach them how to make it, Padfoot," suggested Remus. "It'll be more fun!"

"You are right," sighed Sirius. "We'll teach them. It's going to be an exciting vacation!" he said, his enthusiasm returning as they walked back to return the Cloak to Harry.

...

"Hem, Hem!" a toad-faced witch cleared her throat, as she wrenched open the door of the office wherein sat the Minister of Magic. A copy of the Daily Prophet was clutched in her hands.

"May I come in, Minister?" she said in a girlish voice.

"What is it Madam Umbridge? I'm in the middle of some urgent work now," he replied, grimacing at the pile of parchment on his table which needed his signature and seal.

"I apologise for having disturbed you, Minister," she simpered. "But I am afraid this report needs your urgent attention."

"What report? Is it the Prophet again?" he asked boring a hole into the parchment, as he thought of all the recent reports in various wizarding publications which had derided the Ministry for the way they had handled the Sirius Black case.

"Yes, it is, Cornelius," she said as she inched closer to the Minister. "It's about the matter of Acquila Black's guardianship."

"Bloody reporters!" swore Fudge as he snatched the newspaper from her hands.

She straightened the creases in her pink skirt with her hands, before sitting down on the chair before Fudge, showing a falsely grieved expression as he saw the minister wincing as he read the headline.

**_WIZENGAMOT HEARING FOR ACQUILA BLACK'S GUARDIANSHIP- ANOTHER CASE OF JUSTICE DENIED TO SIRIUS BLACK?_**

_With wizarding Britain still extremely furious over the denial of basic legal rights to renowned ex-Auror Sirius Black, questions regarding the guardianship of his daughter, Acquila Black, the only Heiress to the ancient House of Black have arisen._

_When questioned about whether the guardianship of the young Heiress would be granted to her father, Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge had refused to comment on it during the press conference which took place recently._

_The hearing for the wardship of Miss Black had taken place on the 1st of October last year. Estranged Black sisters, Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks had both applied for the guardianship. The high-profile case which had garnered the attention of all of wizarding Britain, had grabbed even more attention with the appearance of Sirius' Black's patronus during the hearing._

_What was even more important was what Sirius Black had declared through his Patronus._

**_"I, Sirius Black, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black declare that the guardianship of my only child, Acquila Dorea Black be given to my cousin, Mrs. Andromeda Tonks. Being her father and the Head of the House of Black, I HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DECIDE MY DAUGHTER'S GUARDIANSHIP. She will stay with Andromeda." _**

_Thus, the Head of the House of Black, had clearly declared that by virtue of being the father of Acquila, and the Head of the House which belonged to, he wanted the guardianship of his daughter to be granted to his cousin Andromeda Tonks._

_A member of the Wizengamot who is well-versed with Wizarding Laws, has confirmed to our correspondent that where the guardianship of a child is in question, as per the section XVIII of the laws relating to the guardianship; where the child is not an orphan, and the child's parents are for any reason unable to take care of the child, the parent(s) opinion has to be taken into consideration while making a decision for the wardship of their child._

_This clearly tells us that the members of the Wizengamot flouted the very laws which the Wizengamot is bound to uphold._

_The farcical hearing which completely ignored Sirius Black's declaration and granted the guardianship to the very person Black hadn't wanted his daughter to live with- Narcissa Malfoy; raises questions about how the common witch or wizard can expect a just Hearing, when even the word of the Head of such an ancient House is ignored._

_The utter disregard for law is bound to raise question about whether the Wizengamot can be trusted to ensure a fair and just hearing for the wizarding public. _

_Madam Esmeralda Warwick, member of the Wizengamot who was present for the hearing says that, "Of course, I knew the law. But what needs to be understood, is that the Law doesn't state that charge of the child in question should be given to whosoever the parent decrees that it should be given. It states that the parent's opinion should be taken into consideration. And how could you expect us to take the word of an escaped criminal into consideration?"_

_(For more news on Mrs. Warwick's adulterous liaison with a twice-wed father-of-four, turn to page 3)_

_But do Mrs. Warwick's words really hold water? Wasn't it another travesty of justice where the Black Head of House is concerned?_

_Who is to blame for War Hero Sirius Black's wish being completely disregarded? Who is to blame for Acquila Black having had to spend eight months under the guardianship of the wife of the man whom Andromeda Tonks had accused of playing a part in the killing of the McKinnons, who were Acquila's grandparents? Who is to blame for Acquila having to attend a ball in the Manor belonging to Lucius Malfoy- the man who shares a relationship of extreme detestation with Sirius Black?_

_The blame invariably falls on Minister Fudge. As Minister of Magic, he should have ensured that…_

"Merlin's saggy pants! How on earth can they blame _me_ for this!" roared Fudge, not even bothering to read the rest of the report. He then bellowed out a string of curses, till Umbridge offered him a glass of water.

"Calm down, Cornelius," she simpered as she stared at Fudge, who had gone purple in the face, due to his rage.

"They can't blame me for this! I know nothing of those bloody laws! It's the Wizengamot's fault! And Black was thought to have been an escaped mass-murderer! How am I responsible for the bloody wardship matter! They can blame Dumbledore! He's the chief Warlock, for Morgana's sake! Or even that Bones woman! She's the Head of the DMLE! And here, these imbecile reporters…blaming me again…"

"Hem, hem," coughed Umbridge, and Fudge stopped his tirade.

"If I may speak…"

"Speak!" he bellowed.

"The press will not blame Dumbledore and Bones, since the two have been gaining praise from all quarters for their quick action regarding Pettigrew. They prefer blaming you, as the Prophet wouldn't dare attract public ire, by dragging Dumbledore and Bones into this mess, especially Dumbledore, who captured Pettigrew…"

"Get to the point, Dolores!"

"One of my sources tells me that Sirius Black is Harry Potter's godfather. And I have also got information that Potter was treated badly by the Muggles he lived with…if you act quickly to grant…"

"You're right, Dolores!" cut in Fudge. "Catch hold of the Department of Family Affairs. And get the documents for transferring Potter's guardianship to Black ready at the earliest! Get the documentation for Acquila Black's custody to be granted to Black, as well. I want them to be ready at least by tomorrow. We have to dispatch them to Sirius Black within the next two days. He might be happy and agree to meet me…and then, we could schedule a joint press meet with him pledging his support to me…" He rubbed his hands gleefully.

"It will be done," said Umbridge, and she got up to leave.

As she reached the door, she turned and coughed again.

"Hem, hem!"

"Yes, Dolores?"

"I could inform the press of how badly Potter was treated by the Muggles. It will distract attention from the blame-game. Britain will be in uproar on knowing of the mis-treatment of the boy-who-lived," she smiled widely.

"Oh, Dolores! You can look forward to pay-raise at the end of the month!" exclaimed Fudge, happily.

"Thank you, Cornelius," she smiled and exited the office; while Fudge went back to signing the parchments, his thoughts still centered on Umbridge's plan.

...

Acquila, Harry, Hermione and Ron made their way down to the end-of-the-year feast that night. The Great Hall was decked in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. Acquila heard Ron groan and grumble; and she had the urge to do the same. She had wanted Gryffindor to win. But Harry's absence at the Quidditch match, and the points which Harry, Hermione, Neville and she had lost during the dragon episode, had put paid to her hopes.

A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. She spotted Remus sitting with another man, between Dumbledore and Hagrid. And she did a double-take when she saw that the man beside Remus was her father. Gone was the long matted black hair, and the shaggy beard. Sirius Black looked every inch like the man in the photograph which she had, except for his rather lanky body. His hair was now at a respectable shoulder-length, and it wasn't as rough as it had been the previous day. He was clean-shaven now, and with his grey eyes gleaming with happiness, Acquila thought he looked much like a father than an escaped convict. He waved at her and Harry on spotting them, and they waved back at him. They waved at Dora as they made their way to the Gryffindor table.

As Acquila's ears caught the chattering going around the House tables, she turned a bright red. What was wrong with the older girls of Hogwarts?

"Oh my! He's so dashing!"

"Sirius Black! I've never seen such a sexy man!"

"Did you see his eyes? Such a smoldering grey!"

She shuddered as she passed by the next table.

"He's got a daughter who's just a few years younger than us…"

"Oh, that doesn't matter! Age's no bar when there's such a hot man for the taking. What wouldn't I do for a single snog…"

"Hey! That's my father you are talking about!" she said furiously to the blonde girl, who had a dreamy look on her face. But the girl just winked at her in reply, and Harry tugged onto her hand, pulling her towards the Gryffindor table.

"Harry! Didn't you hear them?" Acquila exclaimed, scandalised; wrenching her hand out of his grasp. Harry's sheepish expression told her that he had indeed heard them.

"I did…but there's nothing we can do…why don't you sit down here?" he muttered, pushing her onto a chair and taking the place next to her; while Ron and Hermione who seemed to be bickering over something sat on either side of them.

"Oh, calm down, Acquila," said Hermione. "You know how some girls are. You don't need to take it that seriously…"

"But that was so disgusting! Look…look at that brunette there, even she's staring at him!" she exclaimed, pointing to a sixth-year girl on the Slytherin table who seemed to be engrossed in a deep discussion on Sirius with the girl sitting next to her. A moment later, as Acquila saw Sirius' gaze move towards the duo, the girls burst into identical giggles.

"Did you see that? He looked at them and they giggled! He's…he's encouraging them!" she exclaimed angrily, as Ron guffawed.

"Ronald Weasley, I'm sure you don't want to be vomiting slugs during the Feast!" snarled Acquila, and Ron stifled his laugh, and then started discussing the Quidditch match with Harry, throwing amused glances at Acquila every once in a while.

As Neville, Lavender and Parvati sat beside them, Acquila heard Lavender exclaiming, "Ooooh! He's so handsome! Look at him, Parvati!"

"Unless you want to be belching out slugs, you'd rather not mention Acquila's _father_, Lavender," said Hermione, gesturing at Acquila's angry expression.

They then noticed a few people standing up to look at them. They seemed to want to question them like their fellow Gryffindors had when they'd gone to the common room after being discharged. She didn't want to answer any more questions and nor did Harry. Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later and the babble died away.

"I am pleased to introduce to you all this evening, Sirius Black," said Dumbledore gesturing towards a smiling Sirius. "I'm sure that all of you have heard of him," winked the Headmaster and the Great Hall erupted with claps and cheers. And Acquila noticed that there were definitely more female voices than male.

"And Remus Lupin," Dumbledore continued. "He played an important part in the capture of Peter Pettigrew."

The students clapped but not as loudly as they had for Sirius. Acquila noticed Dora clapping the loudest for him and her hair turning from pink to crimson. The only people who didn't look pleased with the guests were the Slytherins, who hadn't bothered to clap and Snape who kept on glaring daggers at Sirius.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully and broke Acquila out of her thoughts. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts...Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with two hundred and sixty two points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy- two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table.

Acquila could see Draco banging his goblet on the table and then he looked at her and winked. She smiled back politely, happy that his house had won, but disappointed that Gryffindor had lost because of them.

"I hate Malfoy!" muttered Harry, glaring in his direction.

"This is such a sickening sight!" Ron added, looking at Maflfoy.

"Cut it out boys," said Acquila. "They won. We can't do anything about it."

"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes...First…to Mr. Ronald Weasley…"

Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.

"...for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver.

Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

At last there was silence again.

"Second…to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms; and as Harry's eyes met Acquila's, they both knew that Hermione was probably crying. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves…they were a hundred points up.

"Third… to Miss Acquila Black... for choosing to stand by a friend in the face of danger, even when given a chance to save her own life, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Acquila blushed as the people around her rushed to shake her hands and congratulate her. Harry hugged her tightly, and as she looked at the Staff Table, she saw her father applauding wildly, a proud grin on his face. Remus too, was clapping loudly as he smiled at her. And the Weasley twins kept whistling and cheering, "All hail the lady!"

"Fourth…to Mr. Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet, and Acquila clutched Harry's hand tightly. "…for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."  
The din was deafening.

Harry blushed as Acquila planted a kiss on his cheek. And as he looked up at the Staff table, he was Sirius and Remus applauding just as hard as they had done for Acquila. Sirius gave him a 'thumbs up' and Harry suddenly felt a warm feeling within him; which he realised was happiness at having made his Godfather proud of him.

"Our points are exactly the same as Slytherin's" Hermione whispered to him.

"Yes!" he replied excitedly, "We are tied at four hundred and seventy two."

Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.  
"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Acquila, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before.

Harry- still cheering- nudged Acquila and pointed at Draco, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on him. But when he saw Acquila looking, he smiled at her and mouthed a 'Congrats'. She was glad he was happy for her, though deep within she rather thought he was just putting on a charade.

"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. Acquila saw Snape catching Harry's eye and glaring at him menacingly. And he then turned to Acquila, sneered at her, and went back to talking to McGonagall.

The feast began and their golden plates filled with savouries and their goblets with water. Ron was the first to plunge in. All around the hall you could hear talks, laughs, giggles, clatter of cutlery, ghosts whooshing through the tables and sometimes even through students.

In the midst of this cacophony there was a loud collective gasp of shock, and Acquila turned to see what had happened. Sirius and Snape were pointing wands at each other with anger writ large on both their faces! As a jet of light shot towards Sirius, Acquila shouted.

"DAD!" she screamed-the word coming out of her mouth on its own- and she stood out, shutting her eyes to concentrate her magic on Snape. But Hermione pulled her down, and made her sit.

"You can't raise your wand against a teacher!" she whispered.

...

_A few minutes ago,_

"I can't wait for desert," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.

"Oh, Albus! You have quite the sweet tooth," said McGonagall, smiling.

Dumbledore chuckled, and turned to Remus, as he spotted Quirrell's empty chair.  
"Remus, how would you like teaching at Hogwarts?"

Remus, who was drinking pumpkin juice sputtered and began coughing.

"Me? Te…teach here?" he gasped between coughs, as Sirius waved his wand over him, resulting in his coughing fit coming to a stop.

"Yes, my boy. It seems that we are in need of a Defense against Dark Arts teacher again this year," said Dumbledore, gesturing at the empty chair down the table.

Snape meanwhile looked at Lupin, with a venomous look. How could Dumbledore give the position to that werewolf? Hadn't he, Severus proved himself to Dumbledore? Wasn't he capable and worthy of the DADA post?

"I am honoured that you would give me a chance to teach here, but I'm afraid I'll have to refuse," Remus replied.

"Remmy! Why won't you take the job? You have always wanted to teach! And you are quite a good teacher, Mooney," put in Sirius, remembering Remus tutoring Pettigrew in Defence against the Dark Arts and Potions.

"Well, I want to spend time with you and the kids, Sirius. We have a lot to catch up on…"

"But you'll be able to be with the kids in school…"

"No, Padfoot. Not this year," said Remus firmly, not telling Sirius the real reason for him refusing the job. He knew that after the kids left for school when the new term began, Sirius would be left all alone. And he didn't want his friend to live a life of isolation again. But if Sirius knew that this was the reason for his refusal, he would surely force him to take up the job.

"Ah! Well, it's quite alright," said Dumbledore, bringing Remus out of his thoughts. "I'll think of someone else for the post."

"But…" started Sirius, but a cold voice suddenly cut in: "It's a good thing you refused, Lupin," spat Snape. "Imagine the danger you would put the students in," he continued, each word dripping with malice.

"The students wouldn't have been in any danger Severus, no more than they were when you were students," Dumbledore replied calmly, as Sirius bristled angrily, while Remus sat silent.

"Don't you remember; I almost died at sixteen? I seem to recall that it was our _war hero_ who led me to the death trap where this Monster was transfo..."

"Don't you dare call him that, you Death-Eater!" snarled Sirius, "Or I'll…"

"Or what?" Snape cut him off, sneering.

The very next second, Sirius whipped out, and stood up, pointing it at Snape, while Snape did the same.

"Levicorpus!" snarled Snape, his sudden attack taking Sirius by surprise, but he dodged the curse and it hit Mrs. Norris, who was perched onto Filch's shoulder. And she went flying up into the air and dangled upside down; mewing angrily as she thrashed around.

The students laughed madly, as Filch howled in rage, trying to reach for his pet that was dangling a few feet above him in the air. Most of them hated the cat, and the care-taker.

"Sirius! Sirius!" Fred and George started cheering and most of the students joined in. But Acquila stared at the two duelists who seemed oblivious to all the others present in the hall.

"Obscuro!" screamed Sirius, and a blindfold appeared on Snape's eyes as he failed to doge the curse. In the split second that it took for Snape to make the blindfold vanish, Sirius conjured a dozen forks.

Snape had hardly vanished the blindfold when Sirius shouted, "Oppugno!" and the forks raced towards Snape to attack him.

"Impedimenta!" snarled Snape, and the forks slowed down, a few inches away from him.

"Reducto!" he thundered, and the forks were blasted into smithereens.

"Black!" snarled Snape.

"Snivellus!" sneered Sirius, his wand ready to attack him.

The two black-haired wizards glared maliciously at each other, each breathing heavily; as the entire hall erupted into laughter on hearing 'Snivellus'.

"Stop it! This very moment! You are grown-ups for Merlin's sake! You are behaving like teenagers!" McGonagall cried, but Sirius and Snape ignored her and Dumbledore's 'Stop!'

"Stupe…" started Sirius.

"Sectu…"started Snape.

"Protego!" came a commanding voice, and their spells collided against the powerful shield charm which Dumbledore put up.

"That will be enough! Sit down! Both of you!" said Dumbledore, his eyes blazing. "And all of you please take your seats as well," he said to the students who had all stood up to watch the duel.

Snape glared at Sirius for a long moment, and then stared mutinously at Dumbledore, before sitting down furiously. Sirius merely smirked at Snape and sat down beside Remus, while McGonagall and Flitwick-who had moved to retrieve the cat -sat down as well.

"This is preposterous!" said McGonagall angrily. "Is the example you set to your Slytherins, Severus?"

Snape bristled angrily; while Sirius smirked again, and Remus continued to concentrate on his bowl of pudding.

"Why don't you tell your favourite student to set a better example to his daughter and Potter's imbecile brat…"

"Snivel…" started Sirius angrily, but Dumbledore put his hand out.

"This is a school! And I will not have personal vendettas being played out in my school!" said Dumbledore commandingly, and Snape and Sirius went back to eating their dinner after one last glare at each other.

...

"It was amazing!" exclaimed Harry as they entered the Common Room. They had all discussed the duel between Sirius and Severus, but he still couldn't stop talking of it.

"I swear, mate! Sirius would have beaten Snape easily if the duel had lasted any longer!" replied Ron

"Yes! He conjured the forks in just a split-second!" exclaimed Neville in an awed tone, as Acquila nodded in agreement.

"And Professor Snape! Did you see him? He cast the 'Impedimenta' spell in just a fraction of a second! His reflexes were so quick!" said Hermione, only to have Ron cast an angry look at her.

"Don't you start praising Snape! He's a greasy git!"

"He's a professor, Ron! And he did really react quickly! You need to keep aside your prejudices and accept things as they are! Professor Snape dueled rather well! Just accept it!"

"You're praising the enemy! And you didn't say anything about Sirius blindfolding him! Your Professor Snape couldn't dodge that one, could he? But Sirius did dodge his spell…the one which hit that dratted cat!"

"Of course, Acquila's father did duel well," said Hermione with a glance at Acquila. "But you can't overlook what Professor Sna…"

"Stop sounding like you're in love with the hook-nosed git!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ronald…"

And the argument went on, as a few more students gathered around the duo, putting in their own views.

"Why don't we go to my dorm, Acquila?" whispered Harry as he stared at Ron, who had turned red in the face, as he argued with Hermione; while the twins had started a weird victory-dance in Sirius' honour.

"Yes," she replied, as she grasped his hand and went up to his dormitory, where she smiled at Dean and Seamus who were packing their trunks.

"Your dad is cool, Acquila!" winked Dean.

"I'll tell him that," she grinned, as she sat beside Harry on his bed.

"You think he will teach me how to duel like that?" he asked her.

"I'm sure he will, if you ask him to, but why…you're thinking of Voldemort, aren't you?" she said in a scared whisper.

"Yes, I am. When I look back at that night in that room, I realise that we did make a few mistakes. I let go off my wand for one. In hindsight, I should never have let go of it, when I knew it had started firing spells on its own and saved me from Quirrell. I let my guard down, and almost got killed. But when I saw Sirius and Snape dueling today, I realised that this is how it is…to really use your magic to defeat someone…like the blindfold thing that Sirius did. If I had known of that spell earlier, I could have used it against Quirrell…it would have given us valuable time to make our escape…it isn't even a painful spell, nor a harmful one. But it can do the job well, when I need to distract the enemy…"

She nodded, her eyes bright-the grey in them seeming almost blue- as she thought of all the numerous spells that Harry and she could learn. She knew that Voldemort might come back to harm Harry. And if he did so, she knew she would be standing between the evil wizard and her best friend- Voldemort would never be able to harm Harry till she lived. And if she did learn spells which Sirius knew from his years as an Auror, she could put her wandless magic skills to use. Professor McGonagall had told her during her training lessons, that being able to cast spells wandlessly gave her an added advantage over the witch or wizard she would duel with- since they would know nothing of the spell she would cast due to the lack of wand movement and the uttering of the incantation. And she intended to put her powers to best use.

"Hey! What are you thinking of?"

"You're right! We'll tell him to teach us!"

"I realise that I _have _to be prepared to face Voldemort, you know. If he does come back…I need to know more magic…"

"I'll be there by your side if he comes, Harry."

He smiled warmly as they both got lost in their respective thoughts till Harry suddenly said, "You think he will go back to being an Auror?"

"You think so?" she gasped. She had never thought of him joining the Aurors again. She didn't want him to, she realised in panic. She had heard from Dora of how tough an Auror's life was, how they risked facing death on missions. And she didn't want to lose her father all over again. When Dora had said that she wanted to become an Auror, Acquila had been happy for her. But since she had been discharged, Hermione had read out a few portions of the Daily Prophet which had mentioned a lot about the various death-threatening missions Sirius had been sent on during his tenure in the Auror Department. And she also knew of the four times her father had faced Voldemort. And now that she knew that Voldemort was alive, the thought of Sirius joining the Aurors again, sent a shiver down her spine.

"No! He can't!" she exclaimed, gripping Harry's hand.

"Hey! Calm down," said Harry.

"When you put it that way," he said after she had explained her thoughts to him, "It does seem a scary job. But I think that if he wants to…well, you should let him. It's his life. And Dora said that it had always been his dream to work as an Auror…"

"Let's not talk of it," she cut him off.

"Alright. Now why don't you go to sleep? It's been a long day. And don't forget to take that sleep potion which Madam Pomfrey gave you."

"Yes, Harry," she said, rolling her eyes. "You sound like a dad!"

"It's strange how you can call me a dad, but you hesitate while calling Sirius the same," he smirked and she stuck her tongue out at him; and then bid him good night before going off to the dormitory, knowing that Hermione would have a lot to tell her about her argument with Ron.

...

The next morning, as Severus Snape paced around his room in the dungeons; he caught sight of himself in the Muggle mirror which hung on the stone wall.

His face was pale-thanks to years of working in the dungeons and being away from sunlight. His hair-which wasn't as greasy as it was in his younger days, no matter what Sirius Black said-hung around his face in a less-than-graceful manner. And with his robes billowing around him, he knew he looked rather like a Vampire; which an imbecile first-year Gryffindor had thought him to be. Severus knew that he wasn't someone who could be considered a conventionally handsome man; which was why he hadn't purchased a magical mirror which would have probably told him to shampoo his hair to wash off the remnant grease.

Severus had never thought that it was looks that mattered. What mattered was your intellect, your cunning and your ability to gain such a complete control over your mind that the only person who knew your deepest, innermost thoughts would be you. And it was these three qualities of his, which he knew would stand him in good stead when the Dark Lord returned.

Sirius Black on the other hand was the exact opposite of all things that defined Severus. Though Severus would never admit it to anyone, he knew that Black was one of the most handsome and charming wizards in all of Britain. And all that people saw was his popularity, his charm, his wit, his bloody courage. Nobody saw Black's recklessness, his short temper and the darkness which Severus was certain lurked within some deep corner of Black's soul- the same darkness and temper which had led to Black giving Potter Junior to Hagrid and running after the traitorous rodent, resulting in not just McKinnon's death and Black's incarceration, but had also condemned the boy who bore Lily's eyes to living with his abusive relatives. Nobody saw that Black was a complete bully who had picked on Severus for seven long years in school. Nobody chided him for having almost having had Severus killed on that full moon night when that monster had transformed. And nobody realised that it had been Black who had led to Lily's death by suggesting Pettigrew for secret-keeper. Of course, Severus knew that it was pretty hypocritical of him to say that when he himself had conveyed the prophecy to the Dark Lord. But it had been Black who had cast the proverbial last blow with his logic-defying suggestion. Black was nothing but a pretty face with tons of wealth, a last name which could be traced back to centuries, unflinching loyalty, and reckless courage. And that was why Severus hated him! Hated that Black led to Lily's death; that his stupidity led to Lily's son being ill-treated in a way that would have had Lily rolling in her grave. He even hated the bloody report in the Daily Prophet written by that Skeeter woman, who had somehow got wind of the duel with Black. She had, of course, glorified the War Hero's heroics and agility in 'beating' Severus at the duel. Severus snorted at that. If Dumbledore hadn't put up the bloody shield charm, his curse would have hit Black right in his chest.

Black! How he detested him! For a tiny little moment, when Black had called him 'Snape' and not 'Snivellus', Severus had thought that Black had probably gained some sense of maturity, perhaps, Black was growing up. But then, the bastard had put all those thoughts to rest, when he had called him 'Snivellus' in front of the entire school! If Severus had his way, he would have hit Black with dozens of Sectumsempras to get back at him for the insult. But then, he couldn't fall down to Black's depths of childishness and immaturity, could he?

'Just ignore him, Sevvy. He's just a bullying toe-rag, just like Potter is!' Lily's voice echoed through his mind, and Severus smiled slightly.

Lily! Sweet, loving Lily. How he missed her! Despite a decade since her death, despite more than sixteen years since she last spoke to him as a friend, he loved her with every fibre in his being. He still remembered her long red hair which framed her pretty face, the scent of her perfume which always seemed to surround her, her sweet voice which had so enthralled him...Lily. She would always be Lily Evans for him, never Lily Potter. And though she had married Potter and even had a son by him, Severus knew that Potter could never have loved her with the depth and intensity with which Severus loved her- the kind of love which made Severus unable to ever love another woman, because his heart lay six feet under the soil of the graveyard at Godric's Hollow with a woman who in her life-had loved him more than anyone else had, and in her death-had taught him the meaning of true love.

And it was for that love alone, that he finally decided to agree with Dumbledore's request of trying to maintain a truce with Sirius Black to protect the green-eyed boy, who was the only thing left of the girl he loved.

...

"I'll miss you, Hermione," said Acquila, as she hugged Hermione tightly.

Hermione and Ron, along with Neville were going to leave on the Hogwarts Express. While Harry and Acquila would take a portkey to Ted's house, to avoid the unnecessary media attention which they would undoubtedly attract on the Railway stations, if they went by the train.

"I'll miss you too, Acquila! And don't you worry, I'll find out about _it_," she added in a whisper, referring to the strange connection between Harry and Acquila.

"Come on, 'Mione! It's time to leave," exclaimed Ron as he gave Harry a one-armed hug.

"Hello, children!" came Sirius' pleasant voice. "Ready to leave, Harry, Acquila? The portkey will leave soon."

"Yes, Sirius," said Harry.

"You have to come and visit us, Harry, Acquila! Mum's told me to invite you both to stay home for the vacations…you too, Hermione…but I must tell you…my house isn't much…" he muttered.

"We'll try to come, Ron," replied Harry. He did want to spend time with Ron, but to be true, he wanted to spend time with Sirius, as he knew he would get only two months of vacations to spend with his Godfather, till he came back to Hogwarts.

"Ronald," put in Sirius. "I would love for you to stay with us for a few days, once we decide where we are going to live in."

"Are you sure?" gasped Ron. "I mean…Pettigrew…my rat…" he mumbled, the tips of his ears turning red.

"Oh no! None of that! I don't blame any of you for that…and to be frank, I prefer not thinking of that rat…I'll write to your mother once we decide on a residence. And I'm sure Harry and Acquila won't mind if your twin brothers come as well," he added, brightening up at the thoughts of the Weasley twins who reminded him of James and him at that age.

"Will you come as well, Hermione?" exclaimed Acquila.

"I doubt my parents will let me go. I haven't seen them since Christmas. And I've never been away from them for this long. But I'll try!" she replied.

"Come on, Hermione. We've to leave now!" exclaimed Ron,

Shouts of 'Goodbye' and 'See you soon' echoed, till Sirius suddenly called out to Neville.

"Yes?" muttered Neville.

"I will write to your grandmother soon about it, but I would like to ask you first. Would you like to visit us during the holidays? I am sure Harry and Acquila will love to have you over," said Sirius as Acquila and Harry nodded politely.

"Umm…You'll have to ask my Gran. But I'd like to come…thank you," replied Neville before running off to follow the other students.

As Sirius, Harry and Acquila walked back to McGonagall's office where the Portkey was waiting for them, Harry suddenly asked Sirius, "Why did you invite Neville suddenly? Not that we mind but…"

"I knew Frank and Alice very well, kiddo. They were one of the best Aurors in the Department. Frank even led me on a few missions…"

"What happened to them?" asked Harry.

"My cousin, Bellatrix tortured them into insanity…her husband Rodolphus, and his brother Rabastan along with Barty Crouch Junior. They used the Crutiatus Curse on them till they lost their minds completely …it happened a couple of days after…after I was arrested…" he trailed off, before continuing, oblivious to the horrified looks on the children's faces, "They are at St. Mungos now…Ted told me that he has been assigned as their mind-healer since the past six years. But there has been no improvement. Neville visits them with Madam Augusta…but they do not even recognise him…and when I saw Neville…he seems to be a rather shy, scared boy…nothing like Frank and Alice were. I thought it would help him, being around kids his age…"

"He…Voldemort said I was like Bellatrix…" gasped Acquila.

"You're nothing like her, sweetheart," said Sirius firmly, while Harry said nothing. He had always felt bad that he had never got the chance to meet his parents. But he realised that Neville's situation was much worse. To have your parents not even being able to recognise you as their own son; that was probably the most heart-wrenching thing a child could suffer.

"Hold on to the Portkey!" said McGonagall as they reached her office. "It'll take off in five seconds!"

Five seconds later, they were off; though their minds still remained on Neville and his parents.

...

Later that afternoon, after having been shown their respective rooms and having unpacked their trunks; Acquila, Harry and Sirius sat in Harry's room to play wizarding Monopoly. Andromeda and Ted had left for Kings Cross station to pick up Dora, for the last time, as she was done with her education at Hogwarts.

"Merlin! I lost all my gold again!" Sirius grumbled. "How is it that you Potters are so good at this? You already have three Manors and one Castle and that too at all the expensive locations. Jamie used to always win at this too, you know," he said, as he watched his mini Manor on Godric's Hollow disintegrate.

Excitement ran through Harry, at the mention of his father.

"You used play with him too?"

"Yes! All the time, at Potter Manor! Dad, I mean Jamie's dad used to be out on Auror missions all day. And Mum Dorea would get annoyed at our pranks, and make us play Monopoly to keep us of mischief. And Prongs would always win and only because I would somehow always land on Knockturn Alley and lose all my gold and Manors; just like I did now."

"Can you tell me more about him?"

"Sure!" said Sirius, as Harry and Acquila sat up to listen, while the game lay forgotten.

"I met James on the Hogwarts Express itself. When I told him I was a Black, he did not judge me for what my family was. We spoke through the entire train ride like we were long-lost friends. I was afraid I would be sorted into Slytherin like the rest of my family. But Prongs assured me that he didn't think I was anything like the Blacks his parents had told him about. And he was right! I got sorted into Gryffindor, and to be frank, I was elated and rather apprehensive as well; I knew my family would react badly to it…first Black in Gryffindor. Even the Gryffindors didn't seem that keen to have me in their House," he said, and Acquila remembered herself having got pretty much the same reception on being sorted in Gryffindor.

"But James…he was with me all through the feast; telling me to ignore the muttering and whispers. And after the sorting my Mum yelled at me in front of the whole school. She was on the Board of Governers, you see. She was about to curse Jamie for standing up for me, but Dumbledore came in there, and well, she was expelled from the Board later, but escaped an Azkaban sentence for trying to use a dark curse…galleons exchanged hands obviously. After that there was no stopping us, Jamie and me, that is. He stood up for me against my hag of a mother when he didn't even know me well enough…he was always a noble boy, Jamie… We were like two peas in a pod. We pulled all kinds of pranks along with Remus and Pete..." Sirius trailed off, and Harry and Acquila looked at each other wearily.

"We four were dorm-mates," he continued after a few moments."We called ourselves the Marauders."

"How did my parents meet?" Harry asked, wanting to know about his mom as well.

" Oh yes, we first met Lily on the train, but she hated us, of course, especially Prongs."

"She hated him?" gasped Harry.

"Yes," smirked Sirius. "To be frank, Jamie and I…well, our heads were pretty inflated thanks to our popularity. And we played a lot of pranks, caused a lot of mischief…she never really liked us. She was good friends with Remmy…but never us. But Prongs, well, he took a liking to her since that day itself. To be honest, he annoyed Mooney and me with his obsession with Lily. 'I love her red hair! It seems like it's kissed by fire,' he used to say. He started _really _liking her in our third year and asked her out at least once a week after that; but Lily agreed only in the seventh year."

"She took four years to say yes to him?" Harry asked, bewildered.

"They had kind of a love-hate relationship. James was famous, him being a good-looking Potter and also a Chaser in the Quidditch team; girls were crazy for him," Sirius smirked and Harry turned a bit red, before suddenly exclaiming, "So he played Quidditch too!"

"Yes, he did! He was named Captain as well. I played Beater too, though James was a much better player than me, I must admit. He would have made it to a professional team, if he hadn't decided to become an Auror."

"And my mum?"

"She wasn't really a big Quidditch fan. And James showing off his Quidditch skills to impress her, made her flare up more often than not. She used to call James a toe-rag," he snickered. "She hated that James kept mussing up his hair, to impress her. She thought he was arrogant and pig-headed. Lily thought that James was pursuing her only because she was playing hard to get."

"Then how did she agree in the seventh year?" asked Acquila.

"They got elected Head Boy and Head Girl. So, they got to spend a lot of time together and Lily got to know him for who he really was and rest is history."

"Wow!" Harry exclaimed.

"Your parents seem to have had a wonderful love story, just a Muggle movie I had watched," said Acquila.

Harry nodded, never really having been allowed to watch a movie at the Dursleys.

"I remember Lily had dragged us to watch a movie once. It was weird, it looked like a live play but it wasn't, it was playing on a screen. Just like the TV Andy has here. Muggles seem to have their own kind of magic," said Sirius.

"Umm…Dad, will you tell me something about mom?" asked Acquila softly, smiling on seeing Sirius' face which brightened on being called 'dad'.

"Athena," he said, "was the most beautiful witch I've ever seen. She was humble, kind and strong…she had every good quality there is to be had. She was really a very wise girl, full of wanting to know more and more about stuff she didn't know of…Minnie told me you're just like her in that department," he smiled. "Athena stood by me when I was disowned, and she agreed to date me despite…never mind," he trailed off, not wanting to tell them of the girls in his life before Athena.

"How did you meet her?

"She was in Ravenclaw, I think you know that already, don't you? We used to have Astronomy together. I noticed her in our fourth year. One night, James had occupied the empty place next to Lily again, trying to woo her. I never used to pay attention in class anyway and that day I just kept staring at her wondering why I hadn't noticed her before. And when the class was over, Jamie and Remmy left with Peter; and I stayed back…I wanted to escort her back to the Ravenclaw tower…" he laughed dryly. "I thought she would be like all the other girls who fell over each other for me…I thought that all I had to do was ask her out and she would say yes in a heartbeat."

"What did she say?" asked Harry.

"She said no, of course. Looked at me like I'd grown a thousand hippogriff feathers! And then I made it my life's mission to get her to say yes to me. I did quite a lot of stupid things…to attract her attention, to tell her what she was missing out on by rejecting me… and frankly, at first, I had just wanted her because she was beautiful, but then, as we became friends, I realised that I was in love with her…she made me a much better person than I was, or that's what I think…"

"How did she say yes?" Acquila asked.

"No one can resist my charm for long. Your mother had to fall for me someday," he said, winking at her.

"I miss her," he said suddenly. "I miss her laughter, her light snores…the way she used to scream when I left my robes on the floor…the way she leapt into my arms when I came home from Auror missions, her soothing voice…sitting up at the Astronomy tower gazing at the stars and pointing out the Dog-star Sirius…and going for long drives on my motorbike…and, well…I just miss everything about her," he trailed off, his voice no more than a whisper.

Acquila looked near to tears, as she gradually inched closer to him before putting her arms around him to envelope him in a hug.

"I'm …I mean…Harry and I are there for you, dad," she said, not knowing what to say about the mother she had never known; and tugging at Harry's hand, just as he had been about to get up and leave, feeling a bit out of place.

"Thank you," replied Sirius. He wasn't crying, but his eyes seemed to be full of a bottomless grief.

"Now, why don't we get back to the game," he said in a slightly rasped voice, as Acquila went back to her original place.

An hour later, after Harry had beaten both Sirius and Acquila by a large margin, they listened in rapt attention to Sirius' retelling of one of the pranks played by the Marauders- where Sirius in his large Dog form had scared off McGonagall who was in her Cat form and had been scared out of her wits on seeing a huge dog lunging at her.

"Ha ha! So she still doesn't know it was you?" asked Harry amidst Acquila's laughter.

"No, she doesn't! And I hope she never remembers the incident and realizes that it was me!" chuckled Sirius.

"So tell me, dad, why did you all decide to become Animagii?"

Acquila and Harry gaped at Sirius as the grin slid off his face.

"Well," he muttered, "It was a secret. We swore a Maruader's oath that we wouldn't divulge the reason for that… I can tell you only if Mooney agrees…"

"Okay," said Harry with a shrewd glance at Acquila. "We'll ask Remus when we meet him next."

"Harry's dad was a Stag, Pettigrew was a rat and you are a huge black dog. So what's Remus' Animagus form?" asked Acquila as, Sirius stiffened.

"Why don't you ask Mooney that?" said Sirius with a sigh.

Harry and Acquila seemed to be too inquisitive. And Sirius knew that it wouldn't be long before they would work out Mooney's furry problem, especially when Remmy would begin to live with them.

_..._

_She walked gulped down the potion, and walked through the flames; the flames causing her no harm; and then looked around for Harry._

_"Harry?" she called out, "Where are you?"_

_But there was no answering reply._

_She looked at the door which stood before her, knowing that the Philosopher's Stone lay inside. Perhaps she could go in…but without Harry? Where was he? She looked around again, but there was no one._

_She took a deep breath, and then decided to enter the room. She clutched the cold handle of the door, and wrenched it open._

_It was Quirrell, with the huge turban on his head, within which Acquila somehow knew Voldemort dwelled._

_"Oh, here comes the Black Heiress! You are just like Bellatrix…just as beautiful, just as powerful!"_

_ But it wasn't Quirrell who said that but Voldemort. Quirrell's face had disappeared and in place of it, stood a white face, with gleaming red eyes, and two slits for nostrils._

_"I am not like her!" Acquila spat at him defiantly, though she could feel her heart thudding in her rib-cage._

_"Join me! And I will teach you magic which you have never imagined," Voldemort said to her. _

_"Never!" she snarled, though she could sense a part of her wanting to back away and run from the Monster whose red eyes seemed to read her very mind._

_"I give you one more chance! Join me, and you will be the most powerful witch in the world- even more powerful than Dumbledore. You don't like him, do you? The Headmaster? You blame him for having lived a life away from your Aunt and your cousin; you blame him for the ten years you spent among Muggle kids who never understood that you weren't a freak, but someone with special abilities. You hate him, don't you? I will teach you magic which will make you the greatest witch in the world, almost as great as I am," he said slyly._

_"You are not the greatest wizard in the world! Dumbledore is! And no matter how much I feel that he has wronged me, I will never join you and your deranged band of followers!"_

_"You dare defy me, you foolish girl! Crucio!" he screamed, without even giving her a single moment to react._

_Pain. All she could feel was intense pain. A pain which threatened to consume her entirely, which made her want to die than stay alive and bear the agony. A thousand hot knives seemed to be boring into every inch of her body._

_"Aaaaaarghhhhh!" she screamed, and she could hear Voldemort taunting her, though she couldn't make out what he was saying._

_"Crucio!" he screamed again, and she screamed even louder, wishing he would just aim the jet of green light at her and put an end to the horrifying pain._

_"Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she screamed again._

"Acquila! Acquila! Wake up, love! Acquila!" she heard a voice calling out to her, but it seemed like it was coming from far away, as if she was imagining the voice.

"Acquila! Wake up! It's just a dream!"

A soft hand moved over her forehead and her cheeks.

"Kill me! I don't want the pain anymore! Kill me and just get done with it!" she screamed, flinching as the hand moved over her face.

And suddenly, she was doused in water- icy cold water. She opened her eyes suddenly, only to look into a pair of worried grey eyes.

"Are you alright, dear?" a feminine voice called out from her left, and she saw that it was Andromeda. Her aunt was sitting beside her, brushing off the hair which had stuck to her damp forehead which was drenched with sweat.

Uncle Ted stood at the foot of her bed, with his hand on Harry's shoulder, whose green eyes were wide with fear. Dora sat beside Andromeda, her hair a dull brown, her hand caressing Acquila's.

But it was Sirius' face into which Acquila stared the longest. His face seemed haggard, his forehead was creased with lines of worry; and his grey eyes seemed hollow and vacant and agitated and distressed at the same time.

"I'm…I'm fine…it was just a dream…" she muttered, a red tinge flooding her cheeks due to her embarrassment at having aroused the entire house due to her nightmare.

"No. You aren't fine…" started Harry, but she cut him off with a glare.

"I'm alright…I am not some weakling…It was just a dream. Go back to sleep…all of you…"

"But…" started Dora, but Ted interrupted her. "She's right. Let's go off to sleep. She's fine…it was just a nightmare," he said and ushered a reluctant Harry, Dora and a worried Andromeda out of the room.

"Won't you go as well?" Acquila asked her father, who sat by her side, having not even made an effort to move.

"No. I won't," he replied softly.

"But I'm alright…"

"I know…but I want to be with you…"

"Okay," she huffed, secretly glad that he hadn't left the room with the others.

He shifted a bit, so that he sat leaning against the headboard of the bed, and then hesitantly held out his arms to her.

She demurred momentarily, before settling herself between his arms against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, which seemed to race.

"Did you dream of Quirrell crutiating you?" he whispered as he caressed her hair, and pressed a kiss on her head.

"I did," she replied in a small voice, as she snuggled into him. "Quirrell and then Voldemort…he wanted me to join him…" She felt Sirius stiffen.

"But I refused…" she continued, and then asked him in a voice which he could hardly hear.

"In the room…where the Stone was hidden…Voldemort said I am like Bellatrix…am I like her, I mean apart from what she did to Neville's parents? You knew her didn't you? You grew up together…"

"You are nothing like Bella, darling…"

"How do you know? You don't even know me well."

"I know you well enough to know that you have a good and kind soul within you, which Bellatrix never had. You didn't leave Harry in danger, did you? You stood by his side despite being given a chance to leave. And you refused to join Voldemort when he asked you to, even in that room, and in your dream. That makes you everything that she wasn't! And you've never hurt anyone like she has; and you will never ever hurt anyone intentionally. I know that. I may not know you well, but you are _my_ daughter, you aren't like Bellatrix at all, and you'll never be. Voldemort," he sighed, "has the tendency to say exactly that which he knows will cause you to doubt yourself. He plays on your fears, on your insecurities and doubts…"

"Do you know this because of the four times that you faced him?" she interjected.

"Yes," he muttered. "He wanted me to join him as well, like Reg did, like Bella did…he tried to play on my insecurities, on the wee bit of guilt that I carried in my mind that I had failed my parents and my family…"

"But you didn't join him, did you? You were strong, and you stood by your beliefs…unlike your brother…"

"Reg," said Sirius, a film of guilt creeping into his eyes. "Reg made a mistake. He was young, and Bella had a great influence over him. Bellatrix, my parents, my grandfathers…Regulus felt that when I was disowned, it was for him to be the Heir that they wanted…and I…we were the best of friends, you know…when we were kids…he looked up to me…I was his hero. We did everything together. We were rather like twins…"

"What happened then?"

"I got sorted into Gryffindor. And I met James. James' friendship reaffirmed my belief that the ideals which my family believed in were wrong. And the family started hating me after the sorting. I was the first Black to be sorted into a House other than Slytherin…my mother felt I had insulted her and her upbringing…I was a shame to my family, a disgrace," he spat. "And they brain-washed Reg. When I went back for the vacations that Christmas, Reg wasn't the same anymore. He had turned into what my parents had always wanted _me_ to be- a muggle-hating, blood-supremacist bigoted boy…and he knew that I had changed…he blamed it on Jamie…he thought that Jamie had usurped his position as my brother in my life…and it was much later that he realized that he was wrong. He tried to leave Voldemort. But he couldn't obviously. Once you join him, there's no way to walk out. Voldemort killed him- either personally or ordered him to be killed. We…we never even found a body to bury…and it was all my fault. I was the elder one…I was meant to protect him…but I didn't…I went farther and farther away from him till there came a time when we couldn't stand the mere sight of each other…" he trailed off in a strangely choked voice.

"But enough of that," he said, as Acquila was about to say something about Regulus.

"Okay," she replied softly, resolving to ask Aunt Andy more about her deceased Uncle.

"You know, love, having nightmares of the curse doesn't make you a weak person," he said to her. But she turned her face away from him, looking outside the window.

"It does! Harry didn't have nightmares did he? He almost got killed by Quirrell. But he's brave…and strong…and…"

"Harry is different, Acquila. You don't need to compare you to him. And I think he gets it from Lily. She was one of the strongest people I knew…and the Cruciatus Curse does lead to nightmares, darling. It's a natural thing…"

"How do you know?" she demanded.

"Well," he said uncomfortably, not wanting to tell Acquila of how Walburga had treated him. But then, she was his daughter. And it was her right to know him well- including the good and the bad.

"My mother cast the curse on me for the very first time when I was twelve…because I refused to agree with her that Muggle-borns were beneath us as their blood was tainted.

"So she tortured you?" Acquila gasped, not even realising that her eyes had turned suddenly moist. She remembered Dora having told her of her deranged Grandmother.

"Yes, she did for almost ten seconds, till my Grandfather, Arcturus stopped her. He didn't like me much, but he believed that his Heir shouldn't be tortured like a mere Muggle. And then, well I couldn't sleep for days on end. I would wake up screaming, feeling like my body was still burning with pain…"

"Did no one come… to comfort you?" she whispered, her heart wrenching at the thought of a twelve-year old Sirius crying in pain in a dark room.

"Not really. Andy did, when she used to stay over at Grimmauld Place…and Reg, though he never spoke to me about it, I would hear the pitter-patter of his footsteps outside my room almost every night, pondering over whether he should comfort a blood-traitor or not."

"And your father?" she asked, snuggling deeper into his arms, suddenly realising how lucky she was to have a father who loved her, and sat up at night to comfort her and assuage her fears.

"No. He never was as violent as my mother was, but he never stood up to her in my defence," replied Sirius.

"Oh," she said, putting her arms around him and hugging him.

"Go to sleep, love. And don't you worry. Voldemort is never going to harm you again as long as I'm alive. And I'll always be there by your side, because you're the most important person in my life along with Harry," he said, kissing her cheek.

She hummed in agreement, and then settled down onto her bed as Sirius pulled the blankets over her.

"Stay with me?" she whispered, like she had said to Harry, and Sirius smiled as he sat beside her, his hands rubbing soothing circles on her back, and unconsciously humming a lullaby which Athena used to sing to Acquila when she was a child.

"I love you a lot, child," he whispered and he stayed there till Acquila finally fell asleep, and her breathing evened out. After kissing her forehead again, he walked towards the door, and a moment later, curled up on the floor in his Dog form, wanting to be there for his daughter if she suffered a nightmare again.

...

"Good morning, Harry! Did you sleep well?" asked Sirius the next morning to Harry, who entered the dining room. Andromeda and Ted had already left for St. Mungos to tend to their patients.

"Yes, I did," he replied, as he tried to flatten his messy hair which was sticking up from all sides of his head.

"No use trying to flatten it, kiddo! It'll go back to being messy. Believe me, I've spent seven years in the same dormitory as James, watching him spend hours in front of the mirror trying to make his hair lie down flat to charm Lily," winked Sirius.

"So did it ever stop being messy?" asked Harry as he sat down beside Sirius, grinning at the thought of his parents.

"He stopped trying when he realised that your mother thought his messy hair made him look 'cute'," replied Sirius, uttering the word cute as if it was a revolting word.

"Oh!" said Harry, as he buttered his toast.

"He went crazy with happiness that day, though I told him if it was me, I would prefer being called handsome, rather than cute. Never mind," he smirked.

"Sirius?" Harry said softly a minute later, as he swallowed the toast.

"Hmm?" replied Sirius absent-mindedly, grimacing as he read a report in the Daily Prophet.

"How's Acquila? She…she dreamt of Voldemort last night, didn't she? And that curse?" he muttered.

"Yes, she did," said Sirius softly. "But don't you worry, dear. It's quite a natural thing…people who are tortured with the Crutiatus do tend to suffer nightmares. She'll be alright. And Ted told me he will talk to her about it, since he's a mind-healer. It should help her."

Harry nodded, slightly relieved.

"Merlin! It's already nine 'o' clock. I should be leaving now," said Sirius suddenly.

"Where are you going?"

"To Gringotts! I'm supposed to be there by nine fifteen…the Goblins don't like being kept waiting…" he muttered as he kept the Prophet away.

"Nymphie!" he called out, and Dora poked in her head from the adjacent room.

"Yes, Siri?"

"I'm leaving for Gringotts. I should be back before Andy and Ted get home. But do take care of the children," he said.

"I don't mind! They will be easy to baby-sit," she winked, as Harry stuck his tongue out at her.

It was only when Sirius walked into Gringotts ten minutes later; that he remembered that he had forgotten to put the newspaper away.

...

An hour later, as Harry and Nymphadora sat in the drawing room, playing Wizards' Chess, Acquila descended the stairs, yawning as she did so.

"Goodness! It's ten 'o' clock!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening as she looked at the clock.

"Breakfast's on the table, Acquila," said Nymphadora, wincing as Harry's bishop knocked off her pawn in a grotesque manner.

"Alright," replied Acquila, as she went into the dining room.

As she ate the food, her eyes fell on the newspaper. Her father's face grinned at her from the front page. He seemed younger, and his charming smile made her want to smile back at him, though she knew it was just a photograph.

She thought of the previous night. And she realised that it was probably the most she had spoken to her father, since they had met. She felt much closer to him; the warmth of his embrace had made her feel safe and loved- a different kind of love, one which she had never felt before.

She grabbed the newspaper, as she drank the orange juice, only to almost spit it out when she read the headlines.

**_SIRIUS BLACK, THE NEWEST MOST DESIRABLE WIZARD IN BRITAIN? _**

_Former Auror, Sirius Black, who was recently declared free of all the charges against him, is fast racing up the popularity charts. Reels of newsprint have already been devoted to Black since the day of his acquittal in the dramatic trial against Peter Pettigrew, who was sentenced to a life term in Azkaban for murdering thirteen Muggles and for killing Athena McKinnon Black, wife of Sirius. _

_As evidenced by the crowd of people who had gathered in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic and in Diagon Alley, protesting against the unfair treatment meted out to Mister Black, support for him is increasing day by day, with many people hailing him as a hero in the war against You-know-who, and some even demanding that Black be bestowed with the Order of Merlin, for his exemplary service to Wizarding Britain during his years in the Auror Department, when Black was the Auror with the second-highest number of captured Death-Eaters to his name, after Alastor Moody. _

_But his heroics aren't the only reason for Black's popularity. Sirius, Head of the House of Black, is now the wealthiest wizard in Britain, surpassing Lucius Malfoy. He owns not just the fortune of the Blacks, but also that of the Gamps; and that of the McKinnons as well, till his daughter, Acquila attains majority. _

_According to our sources, this fortune includes the four properties owned by the Gamps, two residences in France, and more than five properties in Britain. And the ten thousand galleons for each year of wrongful imprisonment, has only added to his wealth._

_And Black is one of the few wizards, who can boast of the irresistible combination of being rich, handsome, courageous and single. Though Black's once fit body has turned into a lanky one due to his decade long incarceration in Azkaban, his recent duel with childhood nemesis, Severus Snape-which grabbed headlines- proved that Sirius still retains the excellent Auror reflexes, which he was so famed for._

_With the death of his wife, Athena more than a decade ago, we're sure that the debonair Black will be on the lookout for a witch to fill the void in his life. The handsome wizard, whose typical Black features, shoulder length hair, and grey eyes-which Amy Hyde, who claims to be his ex-girlfriend, describes as the colour of molten silver- has always attracted attention from the fairer sex. _

_Desdemona Reynolds, who claims to have been caught snogging Black in a deserted classroom by a Hogwarts professor, states that Sirius has always been the quintessential witches' man. "He would always go to Hogsmeade with a different witch clutching at his arm! And oh my! He used to look so dashing in his Muggle clothes! You could see every toned muscle in his torso!" says Desdemona._

_Sirius' fellow students during his Hogwarts years confirm Desdemona's words. _

_Carlos Brandon, a Hufflepuff who studied in the same year as Black did, says, "Black was the envy of every boy in Hogwarts, and the deepest desire of every girl. He had a new girlfriend every week, till he finally started dating Athena McKinnon."_

_The 'New-girlfriend-every-week' is probably true, as quite a few of Sirius' peers at Hogwarts have corroborated Brandon's claims._

_"I dated him for five days when we were fifteen! Five whole days! He even carved our names within a heart in the broom closet on the third floor beside the portrait of Alfred, the incorrigible!" says Anastasia Grey. _

_"He was the best kisser! I daresay Sirius' kisses were even better than my husband's are!" says Ingrid Swann, whose husband is allegedly filing a petition for the annulment of their marriage. _

_Despite the number of girls who claim to have had relations with Sirius, Black seems to have been faithful to Athena during their courtship of three years and their subsequent marriage- which enhances Sirius' desirability, since loyalty and faithfulness are necessary traits in a husband._

_And as Sirius is the last male Black, with only a daughter and no son to carry on the name of his ancient family, we are sure Sirius feels responsible to his ancestors for siring a son who would be the next Black heir and carry on the name of his ancient family._

_And with Sirius being the Head of such a Noble family, pure-blood Houses are quite interested in getting their daughters wedded to Black. There have been rumours that Daniel Greengrass wrote to Sirius about wanting to give his sister in marriage to Black. Chrysanthis Zabini, who was recently widowed after the death of her sixth husband, is also rumoured to have her sights set on Sirius. And with many of the girls who claim to have previously dated Black, displaying an interest in renewing their relationship with him; Sirius seems to have no dearth of prospective brides who will give him the much-needed male heir to the House of Black._

"What on earth is this!"

Acquila's loud scream of disgust brought Dora and Harry scurrying into the dining room.

"Did you read this?" she asked, flinging the newspaper at the two.

"Don't believe what the Prophet says, Acquila," said Dora as her eyes read through the report, widening almost comically as they fell on each new line.

"How do I not believe it? He wants to marry someone else! He wants a son to carry on the family name!" she cried with a mixture or outrage and betrayal.

"Doesn't he want me? He said he'll always be there for me! And he said he loves my mother! And now he wants to marry Blaise Zabini's mother…"

"You're over-reacting, Acquila," sighed Dora, as Harry nodded his head vigorously in agreement. "This is just a stupid report! The Daily Prophet prints all kinds of rubbish as long as it can attract eye-balls…and Sirius will never marry Chrysanthis Zab…"

"And what about all those women? He had a new girlfriend every week!" she cut her off, as Harry looked at Dora in bewilderment, having no idea of what to say. On one hand, he could understand Acquila feeling insecure at the thought of Sirius wanting to marry again. But on the other hand, he thought she was reacting rather extremely over the report.

As he was about to say something, a massive brown owl came fluttering in, and dropped a letter on the table, and then flew away. They looked at the writing on the envelope.

_Sirius Black_

_Head of the House of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black_

"Hey! You shouldn't read that!" exclaimed Harry, as Acquila made to open the envelope.

"He's right! You'd better keep that aside, sweetie!" said Nymphadora, but Acquila just glared at them both and opened the letter.

_Sirius Orion Black III,_

_I write to you on behalf on the Noble House of Flint, to express our happiness on your recent acquittal. I am extremely pleased to know that you have been exonerated of all the false charges which were levied against you._

_I am sure you remember that you and I are distantly related. Ursula Flint, a sister of my great-grandfather Richard Edward Flint, was married to Phineas Nigellus Black, thus making us distant cousins. The wedding between Phineas Nigellus and Ursula Flint had been arranged to ally the Noble Houses of Black and Flint._

_I wish to formally commence talks with you for renewing the alliance between our Houses, with a marriage between you and my younger sister, Nigella Synetta Flint._

_I know of your daughter, Acquila. And my son, Marcus, who met her at the ball thrown at Lucius Malfoy's Manor, tells me that she is indeed an engaging and a precocious young witch who possesses the classic beauty which has long been a characteristic of the Blacks. I assure you, that Nigella will indeed be a good mother to not only Acquila and your Godson, Harry James Potter, but also to any future Black Heirs which she will undoubtedly produce to carry on the male line of your Ancient family._

_I look forward to your reply-which I am sure will be a favourable one; and hope that the Blacks and the Flints will be bound again through the magical bonds of matrimony._

_William Lewis Flint_

_Head of the Noble House of Flint_

And as Acquila crumpled the letter into a ball, Harry and Nymphadora stared in horror at Acquila's face, which had turned a fierce shade of red, and her eyes which were brimming with tears of rage and hurt.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:** I know we said we'll upload this chapter soon; but studies, work and a wee bit of writer's block has led to quite a late update :-(  
But to make up for it, this chapter is the longest-ever we've written. Do let us know how you find it!

**A Frozen Shadow- **Thanks ;-)

**JordanMathias**- Even I don't really like Draco getting too close to her; but glad you liked it! Hope you like this one too! :-)

**dream lighting**- Oh yes! She does get an explanation! :-)

**Luna Lily Tonks**- Thanks! You need to read this chapter for the replies to your questions! Hope you like it! :-)

**mdauben**- Thanks a ton! :-)

**PotterHead999**- Ah! Thank you so, so, so much! Yes! The vacations should last for a couple of more chapters till book two begins! There isn't much of Remus and Tonks in this one, but the next chapter will contain more of them! Hope you like this one as well! :-) :-*

**BestMarauderEver**- Thank you so much! Love your reviews!

**Guest , Merida, xenocanaan, Misty, Grazielly , Guest**- Thanks! Hope this chapter appeals to you as well!

**vhemmady**- I never intended for Sirius to be portrayed a la Charlie Sheen. He is a good-looking guy! A haircut, a bath and a set of clean clothes can do wonders for a prisoner, especially a handsome one! :-P Glad you liked the the father-daughter interaction

**Magicheart5355**- Aww! Me too! Hope you like this chapter!

**xxSunnyXBlackxx**- Isn't easy at all! Thanks! :-)

**ThInKpOsItIvE**- Oh yes, she is angry! Thanks!

**shugokage**- Thanks a lot!

**Kaeylarae**- Thank you so much! One big fanfic! I do have ideas for another one, but not much time on my hands to work on two stories simultaneously :-( Thanks a ton!

**Guest**- Updated ;-)

**Disclaimer:** All belongs to JKR! And I just can't wait for the 'Fantastic Beasts...' to release!

**Chapter 18: Her last words**

"What's the matter, Acquila?" exclaimed Harry, rushing to her side; while Nymphadora grabbed the crumpled letter from her cousin's hand.

"He's getting betrothed! To Marcus Flint's Aunt!"

"What!" sputtered Harry, "Marcus...the Slytherin captain who-"

"-who knocked you off your broom! Yes!" she shouted.

"Don't be daft, sweetie," put in Nymphadora, as she kept aside the letter.

"I'm not being daft!" snapped Acquila, as a single tear descended down her cheek, which she wiped off hastily.

"Where is he?" she demanded. "I'm sure he's gone to meet Zabini's mom...or that Greengrass lady they mentioned...or maybe the one whose name he carved in that broom cupboard..."

"Anastasia!" supplied Harry, and Acquila glared at him.

"What!" he exclaimed. "I just..."

"He's at Gringotts," cut in Nymphadora. "And...no, listen to me," she said as Acquila made to speak.

"Believe me, there's nothing carved in that broom cupboard on the third floor! Especially not Sirius' name! I've been in there so many times! I would have noticed..." she stopped in mid-sentence on seeing the look on the two black-haired children's faces.

"Why did you go into that broom cupboard?" questioned Harry.

"And you said you've been in there so many times," said Acquila, with a curious look on her face.

Nymphadora stared at them for a moment, knowing that she had probably turned pink in embarrassment. But on realising that Acquila seemed to have put the Sirius issue out of her mind for the time being, she decided to stick to the broom cupboard topic, than go back to trying to handle a hysterical Acquila.

"Come on! Tell us!" cajoled Harry.

"Umm...well, I used to go in there to...you know..."

"Snog someone like Dad did?" asked Acquila shrewdly.

"Yes," Dora mumbled and Acquila squealed in delight, while Harry stared incredulously at Dora's face.

"Are you dating someone? Do you have a boyfriend?" exclaimed Acquila excitedly.

"Oh no, I was dating someone. But we broke up a couple of years ago..."

"Who was he?" asked Acquila, while Harry seemed rather uncomfortable with discussing his cousin's romantic past, unlike Acquila whose excitement seemed to have taken her mind completely off William Flint's letter. Perhaps, Ron was right when he said girls were weird.

"Charlie Weasley," replied Tonks, and Harry snapped out of his thoughts.

"Charlie Weasley! Ron's brother?" he exclaimed loudly.

"Yes, that very one," nodded Nymphadora.

"But...Ron never told us..."

"Charlie never told his family, except his older brother, Bill. And we dated for just a year...said that his mum would have started planning the wedding and the names of our future children if she knew we were dating," said Dora wryly.

"Why did you break up?" asked Acquila, and then cringed in embarrassment, realising that it had been a rather intrusive question to ask her cousin.

"I'm sorry! That was a rather personal question to..."

"It's alright, Acquila," Dora waved off her apologies. "You're like my sister. I don't mind you asking me anything. And anyway, in a couple of years when guys start falling over each other to ask you for a date, I expect you to tell me every single thing!" she winked, as Acquila, who had never really given a thought to the opposite gender, blushed a pretty shade of pink.

"I don't think boys-" she started, but Dora cut her off, "Of course, they will! And you are such a pretty girl! I'm sure Sirius will start getting proposals for your betrothal from Pure-blood families who would want the last of the Blacks to wed into their family… people like Lucius Malfoy and Rodtimer Avery would want-"

"You are not going to date Draco!" Harry exclaimed rather loudly, with a revolted expression on his face.

"Of course, I'm not, Harry!" exclaimed Acquila indignantly. "He's my cousin!"

"Oh, sweetie! Most pure-bloods are related to each other. And even Sirius' parents were second cousins! Narcissa and Lucius themselves were first cousins. And you never know, I've heard girls saying that Draco is going to look rather fetching when he grows up," she winked, stifling a laugh at the look on Harry's face.

"Urgh! Malfoy can't look…he won't…Acquila, you won't fall for Malfoy, will you?" he asked her, rather earnestly.

"I don't think so, Harry. Draco is like my brother-"

"And I'm sure Sirius will disown you if you even think of marrying the blonde brat!" put in Dora, as Harry sighed in relief, rather audibly.

"He can't tell me whom to date and whom not to date!" said Acquila indignantly, as Dora berated herself mentally for having mentioned Sirius.

"I mean…he himself dated so many girls…I doubt he even loved my mother…" Acquila mumbled bitterly.

"Hey! Nothing of that, darling!" said Dora, pulling Acquila into a one-armed hug. "Believe me, Sirius loved Athena. I don't really remember much of Athena, since I met her just a few times, but I know that Siri loved her a lot. You can ask my mum! She always said that Athena was the best thing to have happened to Sirius, and my dad used to say that they were always meant to be…like the Muggles say…a match made in Heaven. And as for his girlfriends in Hogwarts, I don't really know much about that, but I can assure you that there's nothing carved in that broom cupboard. And the other girls mentioned there must have lied as well. I mean, Sirius is rather popular now, and people know that they'll gain popularity themselves by giving stupid quotes about him…"

"But all of them can't be lying, can they?" she muttered.

"Maybe he _did_ date some of them, but come on, Acquila! He was a teenager! And boys do all kinds of things when they are teens…I'm sure a couple of years later, you'll even come across Harry snogging some red-headed girl in a deserted classroom!"

"What!" Acquila gasped, looking at Harry who had turned a bright red.

"You won't do that, will you, Harry?" she demanded.

"No, no… I won't…" he mumbled, as Acquila glared at him, while Nymphadora sniggered in a rather un-lady-like manner.

"Of course, he'll say no when you glare at him this angrily, Acquila," chuckled Nymphadora. "But that's what people do when they are young! You don't just end up with the person you are meant to be with…you date a few people, and then finally decide on whom you want to be with...take Charlie and me for example. We were never really serious about each other. It was good while it lasted, but then, we knew that it would never have worked out. He wished to go to Romania to train Dragons, and I want to become an Auror…so we parted ways…I'm sure Sirius must have done the same with those girls…"

"But you dated just one guy! And he dated so many! And despite having Harry and me to take care of, he doesn't care for me! He didn't even tell me that he's getting all these letters from people wanting to marry him!" Acquila snapped.

"Acquila," said Harry, "I think you're over-reacting. I mean, he _isn't_ marrying them…I doubt he has even replied to the letters-"

"Stop defending him!" retorted Acquila, as she stood up. "I'm going to write a letter to Hermione. Both of you carry on your game of Chess," she said as she climbed up the stairs which led to her room.

"Should I go and talk to her?" said Harry.

"No, darling. Let her be. If she's anything like my mother says the Blacks are, she'll cool down in some time. Now how about getting back to seeing you lose to me?" she winked.

"I'm sure I'll beat you at it! I've seen Ron defeat the Giant Chess men…You'll be much easier to beat than that, Dora," he smiled, but his smile didn't really seem to be a genuine one. And Nymphadora knew that he was still thinking of Acquila.

**xxx**

"Hello, Harry, Nymphie!" said Sirius as he entered the house, a couple of hours later.

"Wotcher, Siri!" said Dora, while Harry smiled rather weakly.

"Where's my darling daughter?" asked Sirius as he deposited a dozen shopping bags on the table.

"She's-" started Harry, but Sirius cut him off: "This is for you, kiddo," he said, as he handed over an envelope to Harry.

"What's this?" he asked as he took the envelope which bore the Gringotts seal.

"Read it, Prongslet," said Sirius, with a gleam in his eyes.

As Harry's eyes raked over the letter, they widened as they passed over each new line.

"I…I own three properties…and so much of gold?" he exclaimed hoarsely, as he passed on the letter to Nymphadora.

"Of course, you do, kiddo! The letter lists all the investments you own. Jamie invested in a lot of Muggle companies; Lily put him up to it. With the wizarding world going through the war with Voldemort, she deemed it prudent to invest in Muggle stocks than the falling wizarding ones. And quite a bright decision it was, wasn't it?" smirked Sirius.

"Yes…" mumbled Harry, "That's quite a lot of money. I wonder what the Dursleys would have done if they knew I had so much of money and three houses…" he trailed off, oblivious to the murderous look on Sirius' face and the disgusted expression on Dora's, when he mentioned the Dursleys.

"Oh yes, your horse-faced Aunt and her whale of a husband," roared Sirius. "I'm going to pay them a visit next week, kiddo. I was thinking of transfiguring her into a horse and that bastard Vernon into an elephant…and locking up their spawn into that cupboard under the stairs where they had kept you for a decade," he said angrily.

"Umm…Sirius…they did treat me badly…but you… I mean, you don't need to do that… I would rather just forget them…" he muttered.

"Forget them!" exclaimed Sirius incredulously. "Of course, you're going to forget them! But not before I teach them a lesson…vile imbeciles the lot of them! Lily would have…Merlin! Even thinking of their behaviour towards you makes me want to strangle them with my bare hands…" he snarled, his latent anger for the Dursleys, rising up again.

As Harry was about to reply, a voice coming from the stairs gained their attention.

"Back from visiting your girlfriend?" asked Acquila, her voice a sweet poison.

Dora rushed to her side.

"You'd better not get onto his nerves now, sweetie," she whispered to her. "He's already in a bad mood at the mention of Harry's Aunt and Uncle-"

"What do you mean by that?" demanded Sirius in confusion.

Acquila waved aside Dora's words and walked up to her father.

"So, who was it that you went to meet? Anastasia Grey?"

"What? So you read the report in the Prophet, didn't you?" he sighed. "Look, Acquila. I never dated any Anastasia Grey. And I never did whatever she claimed…carving our names-"

"Desdemona Reynolds, then? Was she lying as well?" Acquila demanded, her eyes darkening with rage.

Harry tried to calm her down. "Acquila…I don't think you should-"

"Stay out of this, Harry!" she yelled.

"Don't you yell at my Godson!" roared Sirius. "And you have no bloody right to ask me all these questions! Even Athena never questioned me! And if you think that I am going to allow you to demand answers from me, you are mistaken!"

"Why would she question you? She must have known that you probably dated all these people…tell me, Dad. Did you date other girls when you were dating mom as well-"

"Shut up!" he screamed, as Harry took a step backwards. Never had he thought that his witty, loving Godfather had such a temper.

"Siri…don't-" started Nymphadora, but Sirius looked at her with a warning glance.

"You'd better stay out of this, Nymphadora," he said to her with a semblance of calmness in his voice, and she said no more, knowing that Sirius would never have called her 'Nymphadora' if he didn't mean what he said.

But Acquila seemed to be unaffected by Sirius' rage. She walked up to him, and looked up, straight into his eyes, "You're planning to marry someone, aren't you?" she demanded.

"Of course, I'm not, sweetheart," he said, suddenly realising that he shouldn't have let his anger get the better of him.

"Don't lie to me! I know you'll marry Nigella Flint… I saw her at the Ball at Malfoy Manor, you know? She's a pretty lady…I know you'll fall for her and then marry her and she'll give you the Black heir you desperately want…a son to carry on the family name-"

"Are you out of your mind?" he exclaimed, more incredulous than angry. "I have never wanted a bloody Heir! I hated my entire family! And you think I would want to carry on the effing family name? You think I even care about all that rubbish about pure-blood families? You're my daughter! And you're the only heir I have and I am going to have! And even if I ever marry and have a child, you think I am just going to ignore you? You're my daughter! You're my first-born child for Merlin's sake! The only link I have to Athena! And you think I'm going to ignore you if I have any other kids?"

"So that means you _are _going to marry again!" she said accusingly.

"No!" he replied earnestly. "I just told you of a hypothetical situation! I said 'if I ever marry', not 'when I marry'! I doubt I am ever going to love someone else! Athena was the love of my life! And believe me, if it wasn't for Harry and you, I wouldn't even have had anything left to live for with Athena gone," he stopped suddenly. "Wait…how do you know of this Nigella Flint? That wasn't even mentioned in the Prophet! And I haven't even got a letter from the Flints…" he trailed off when he saw Acquila's gaze turning downward.

"You…you read my letters?" he demanded, the anger rushing back to him.

"I just wanted to-"

"Who gave you the permission to read a letter addressed to me?" he demanded furiously.

"So what if I read them?" she asked him, looking up at him again. "What is it that people write to you that you wish to hide from me?" she glared at him, as Harry stared at the vein which was throbbing in Sirius' temple.

"What people write to me is none of your concern! You're my daughter! Not my wife or my mother! So behave like one!"

"Of course, you will be getting a new wife in a few days…why would I-"

"Just shut up!" he roared suddenly, and Acquila felt her eyes pricking with tears.

"Go back to your room! And you're going to stay there till I tell you to!"

"I won't! You can't punish me as if I'm some kid in kindergarten!" she retorted indignantly.

"You are my daughter! And you are going to do what I tell you to!" he shouted. "Nymphie! Just take her up to her room, before I levitate her there myself!"

"Acquila, come with me," said Dora urgently, not wanting the argument to escalate any further.

"I won't-"

"JUST GO!" screamed Sirius, and Acquila went running up the stairs, wiping off the tears which fell down her face.

Nymphadora sighed. "Siri! That was…well…you shouldn't have done that! She's just a child-"

"Then she should behave like one!"

"Sirius," said Harry softly, "She's just worried that you'll stop caring for her if you… I mean, she's just got her father back and I don't think she wants to lose you-"

"Stop it, Jamie!" Sirius cut him off, before realising what he had said.

"I'm sorry…I meant you, Harry…not James…Damn! I'll be back in some time… I need a drink… I'll… I'll be at Remmy's place if you want to contact me-" he mumbled as he walked towards the door.

"And…and take care of her…I just need some time to calm down…" he turned around and whispered before leaving.

**xxx**

Harry sat beside Dora on the sofa, watching an action movie, as he swallowed the slightly-burnt piece of toast that Dora had made for him. It had been almost two hours since the argument Acquila had with Sirius. An hour ago, Harry and Dora had crept up to Acquila's room, only to see her sleeping in her bed. But knowing that she had slept for almost ten hours the previous night, and the slightly erratic rise and fall of her chest; Harry had known that she was just feigning sleep. He had even wanted to 'wake' her up and talk to her, but then he thought better of it, since he knew that if she had really wanted to talk to him, she would have done so, rather than pretending to sleep.

But the fact that she did not want to talk to him about what had happened irked him more than he would ever admit. She had _always _been his best friend! Since the day they had met when they were eight, she had been the only friend he had. He had shared everything with her- the longing he felt for his parents, his mistreatment by the Dursleys, the strange accidental things that seemed to occur around him. And he knew that he was her best friend too._ He_ was the one she went to when Dumbledore had told her that he had arranged for her to be declared dead and sent her to the Orphanage. She had expressed her fears about the outcome of the hearing for her guardianship only to _him. _

So why didn't she want to talk to him now? Why did she have to feign sleep to avoid him? Why hadn't she wanted to talk to him about the nightmare she had last night? She spoke about it to Sirius. And though Harry knew that Sirius was her father, and though he did want things to get better between Acquila and Sirius, he did feel a slight twinge of hurt that she had chosen to confide in Sirius rather than him.

A sudden movement in the Fireplace had Harry yelping in shock, his thoughts forgotten.

"Look!" he yelled, pointing at the green flames swirling through the Fireplace.

"What's the matter, Harry?" exclaimed Nymphadora, the tub of popcorn falling out of her hands. As she looked at the Fireplace, she realised that Harry had probably never known of Floo travel before.

"That's just-" she stopped in mid-sentence as Andromeda stepped gracefully out of the Fireplace. Nymphadora rolled her eyes at her mother's smug look. Why couldn't Dora ever walk out of the Fireplace without stumbling over her own feet, when her mother could do the same in such a dignified manner?

"-travelling using the Floo," she completed as her mother walked towards them.

"Burnt the toast again, Nymphadora?" sighed Andromeda, as she looked at the piece of toast in Harry's hand.

"Don't call me that, Mum!" groaned Dora.

"I'll stop calling you that when you learn to stop burning the toast! A simple spell is all it takes, but you end up burning the toast every single time, _Nymphadora_," replied her mother with a rather Sirius-like smirk.

"Do you want something else to eat, Harry? You're still a bit skinny, child," she said to Harry, ignoring Dora's mutterings about the annoying name her mother had given her.

"No, Aunt Andy; I'm not really hungry," he said, his thoughts went back to Acquila.

"What's the matter, Harry?" asked Andromeda suddenly, noticing Harry's green eyes which seemed devoid of the lustre which they had possessed since he had woken up to the news of Sirius' acquittal.

"Well, Mum," sighed Nymphadora, launching into a narration of the war of words between Acquila and Sirius.

"Merlin! Siri and his temper! Is the poor child still sulking in her room?" sighed Andromeda.

"She…I don't think she wants to talk to me…I mean, she was pretending to sleep when Dora and I went up to her room," replied Harry in a small voice.

Nymphadora nodded, but it was Andromeda who noticed the slight sense of hurt in Harry's voice.

"Oh, Harry!" she said, hugging the boy. "I'll talk to her. And I'm sure she'll want to talk to you soon. Now why don't you go to the beach with Dora? Have you ever been to a beach?" she asked him, knowing even before he answered that those vile Muggles wouldn't have bothered to take him to any place that would have been remotely fun for their nephew.

"Come on, Harry," smiled Dora, as she pulled him to the door, while Andromeda went up the staircase to Acquila's room.

"Wait a minute," said Dora, and went up to the wooden perch on which her owl was sleeping. She scribbled a quick note to someone and sent the owl off.

"Whom did you write to?" asked Harry.

"Remus Lupin," she replied.

"Why?"

"To make sure that Sirius did indeed reach his house safely," she sighed, knowing that Sirius had probably gone off to drink away his woes instead of going to Remus' house.

"How about I teach you to swim?" she asked Harry as they walked towards the gate.

"Wow! Will you really teach me that?" he asked her. The Dursleys had never let him take swimming lessons.

"Oh yes, I will, sweetie," Dora ruffled his hair. "I can transfigure your clothes into swimming trunks, you know. And then I'll teach you how to stay afloat," she smiled at him, and they walked towards the beach with Dora telling a curious Harry the spells to transfigure clothes.

**Xxx**

Andromeda stood outside Acquila's room, wondering whether Acquila would let her in. She finally rapped her knuckles on the door.

"Go away!" came the voice from within the room.

Andromeda sighed and a quick wave of her wand later, she had unlocked the door and walked into the room. The entire room was shrouded in darkness as Acquila had pulled the curtains over the windows. An involuntary shudder ran through Andromeda as she remembered Bellatrix sitting in a similar darkened room after every tantrum she had thrown when she had been younger.

"Acquila?" she said to the figure which she could make out in the darkness. She was huddled up in her bed with her blankets around her.

"Oh, it's you…" said Acquila in a toneless voice.

"Yes, dear," said Andromeda as she sat down on the bed, beside Acquila and waved her wand around to open the curtains, leading to Acquila shielding her eyes from the sudden sunlight which came rushing into the room.

"So…are you here to yell at me as well?" she muttered, as Andromeda noticed her red-rimmed eyes and the slightly unstable magic which seemed to be emanating from Acquila.

"Of course not, darling," replied Andromeda, aghast. "Why would I scold you? Though I admit that you do need a stern reprimand for saying things to Siri that you should never have said, but then scolding you for that is up to Sirius, not me."

"So why are you here then if not to scold me?" demanded Acquila and Andromeda sighed inwardly.

Since both, Ted and she had no prior experience of raising children- let alone a child who kept changing her nose into a pig snout every hour and then wailed because she didn't know how to turn it back into her normal nose- Andromeda used to think that bringing up Nymphadora had been one of the toughest tasks she had faced. But as she glanced at the girl who sat beside her, Andromeda wondered whether dealing with Acquila would be tougher than raising Nymphadora had been.

She had noticed that Acquila wasn't the same child who had stayed over for Christmas. This Acquila had turned into a moody and slightly arrogant girl with a sudden penchant for being almost-rude. And though Andromeda knew that it was due to Acquila having to reacquaint herself with a father she hadn't seen since she had been in her nappies, she had no idea of how to go about handling her niece.

"Look, Acquila," she said, "You need to understand that you cannot go about questioning Sirius about his past! If your mother deemed your father worth dating, marrying and having a child with, then you really have no right to demand answers from him-"

"So you admit that all those girls in that report weren't lying!" Acquila cut her off.

"Oh Acquila! I never really kept track of what Sirius did in his school years, but I can assure you that almost half the girls who have been quoted in that report are lying. You need to realise that anyone who claims to have had some kind of relationship with Sirius is going to get instant fame! Which is why women who have probably never even met him, are going to jump onto the bandwagon and claim to be well-acquainted with him…it's a way to gain publicity, you see. And if there's one thing in the Wizarding world that you should never rely on, it's the Daily Prophet," she snorted.

"But all of them can't have been lying, can they?" frowned Acquila.

"Of course not! I'm sure Sirius did indeed date some of them, but you need to know why he did so, Acquila-"

"How could he hide all this from me? He told us all about how he met my mom and about Harry's parents! But he purposely hid this from me! He had so many girlfriends! But he told me nothing of his past! He lied to me!" Acquila exclaimed furiously, cutting off her Aunt.

"Look, dear…No father would want to tell his daughter that he was well-known for having a new girl on his arm each week. And he's met you after ten long years! He obviously had other things to talk to you about than his past! And he did have his reasons for behaving the way he did in his teenage years. But I think you are too young to comprehend-"

"No! Tell me! I'm not a small child!" she exclaimed, with a pout on her face.

"Nymphadora had told you about Siri's childhood, hadn't she?"

Acquila nodded in reply.

"Sirius had never really been loved when he was a child, Acquila. Uncle Orion…well, I never knew him too well, but I got the impression that he never cared about his children. He never spoke much to his children, especially Sirius. And he was completely under the control of his wife. As for Aunt Walburga," Andromeda sighed before continuing, "The less said about her, the better. When Sirius was born, I remember my mother saying that all Aunt Walburga cared about was that she had borne a male heir. She never kissed him, never cuddled him; never did any of the things that first-time mothers do to shower their child with love. For her, Sirius was…how do I put it? He was just an Heir to her, a boy who would carry on the Black bloodline. A boy who would conform to her twisted beliefs and sire sons of his own who would make the House of Black last till eternity. She never loved him, never listened to his childish prattle, never held his hand as he took his first steps…Sirius grew up on his own. Neither his mother nor his father paid any attention to him. And when Regulus was born, Sirius showered him with all the love that his little heart held. Though Reg was just a year younger to Siri, Sirius cared for him as if Reg was his own child. And Regulus loved Sirius just as much in return. You would never see one without the other…they even looked the same, rather like twins. And for Reg, Sirius was his entire world…but as they grew up, Aunt Walburga realised that Sirius wasn't going to become the heir she wanted…I do not know how, but despite growing up in a dark house like Grimmauld Place, with a wretched house-elf who kept muttering obscenities against Muggles all day, and parents who never cared for him; Sirius stood for everything that his family hated. He would run out to the Muggle gardens behind Grimmauld Place and play with the Muggle kids there, only to be dragged in by a shrieking Walburga," Andromeda paused as a wide-eyed Acquila listened to her in rapt attention.

"Siri was the first person I told about my relationship with Ted…and he was so accepting of it even at the age of ten…despite Aunt Walburga's best efforts to brainwash him, Sirius stuck to his stand against his mother's bigoted mindset. And it was then that Aunt Walburga realised that she needed to take Regulus under her wing before he went Sirius' way. And she started trying to keep Reg away from Siri…started filling Reg's mind with all her blood supremacist beliefs…and well, when Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor and he met Harry's father, things between Reg and him weren't the same anymore. When Sirius went to Hogwarts for his first year of schooling, Regulus was left alone with Aunt Walburga and her twisted house-elf. And she filled his mind with all her pure-blood ways and her anti-Muggle propaganda…and when Sirius came back for Christmas, Reg wasn't the brother he knew. And as for Reg, he felt that James was more of a brother to Sirius than he was… and…well, to cut a long story short, Sirius gradually started losing the only person who had loved him… and as Sirius entered his teenage years, he became what most Blacks are- attractive, charming, handsome…he never spoke to me about it, but I knew that girls flocked to him…his last name and money were an added incentive for the girl who managed to bag him…and Sirius started getting the one thing he had always lacked since he was a toddler- attention …and for a boy who had been denied attention all his life, I am sure having girls falling all over him must have been something he loved…he started dating all the girls who wanted him, he basked himself in the attention that he got…after years of feeling unwanted, years of being seen only as the Heir to the family; he felt wanted, he felt that the girls loved him for what he was…how do I explain it to you, Acquila? I am not defending what Sirius did-"

"I understand," said Acquila softly. "I know how it feels to be ignored by everyone," she said, remembering her days in the Orphanage when she had clung to Mrs. Smith, as she was the only person who cared for Acquila and showered her with her love and attention. Acquila had grown up without her family, but she _did_ have a motherly figure in the form of Mrs. Smith, who had tried her best to stop Acquila from feeling unwanted and lonely.

Andromeda caressed Acquila's hair lovingly, knowing that she was thinking of her years at the Orphanage.

"So Sirius started dating girls randomly, taking all the attention that he would get…till finally, he fell in love with your mother," Andromeda smiled. "Athena was the only girl who managed to resist Sirius and his charm. But as Athena refused to date him, Sirius continued dating other girls, not because he liked the attention, but to make Athena jealous, to tell her what she was missing out on. Till finally, his friends managed to fill some sense into his inflated head, and he realised that hanging out with a new girl each day wasn't the way to go about getting Athena to like him…and so he changed…he stopped all his flings with girls, started trying to stop flirting unnecessarily…and became the man that he is today…the man that Athena fell in love with…believe me, Acquila. I've never seen a couple more in love than Sirius and Athena were…you couldn't think of one without the other…the other girls never mattered to Sirius, the only girl who mattered to him was Athena…and trust me, I know Siri very well. If it wasn't for Harry and you, Sirius wouldn't even have had anything to live for with Athena being no more…" she trailed off.

"I shouldn't have yelled at him," said Acquila in a small voice as she leaned towards Andromeda, putting her arms around the older woman, who hugged her in return.

"It's alright, darling."

"I was scared, Aunt Andy…I thought he would…" Acquila paused and looked up at Andromeda suddenly, letting go of the embrace. "Do you know about the letter William Flint sent Dad? And the Greengrasses…and Blaise Zabini's mother-"

"Look, dear," Andromeda cut her off, "Sirius is the Head of the oldest Pure-blood House currently in existence. And he's probably the wealthiest wizard as well. Ambitious pure-blood families want to marry off their daughters and sisters to him, so that they not only get allied to the House of Black, but also because if the woman Sirius marries bears a son, he will replace you as the Heir to the entire fortune that belongs to Sirius. But I assure you, dear, Sirius is never going to marry Nigella Flint or Crysanthis Zabini…I have met both the witches at pure-blood balls when I was younger, and though I can't deny that they are extremely beautiful, Siri is someone who values not only beauty, but brains…why do you think he and Athena got along so well with each other? Sirius is a very intelligent man, and Athena was one of the only girls who could challenge him intellectually-"

"So when he finds someone who's pretty and intelligent, he'll marry her?" asked Acquila in a small voice.

"Oh no, dear! Of course not! I didn't mean that! Look, Acquila, there's going to be no dearth of women wanting to marry Siri, but I doubt he is ever going to fall in love with someone again. But I want him to move on in life, fall in love again - no listen to me," said Andromeda as Acquila made to retort angrily. "Sirius is just in his early-thirties, Acquila. He's got his entire life before him! He's already suffered so much in his life…I want him to live a happy life. Sirius has always deserved to be loved. He deserves to have someone love him, have someone wait for him to come home from work, have someone care for him…and I'm not saying that it has to be sometime in the near future. I doubt Sirius is even going to consider dating someone for at least a couple of years. But I want him to be happy again. I know that you've just got your father back…and you are feeling insecure and hurt by even thinking of him wanting to be with some other woman, but promise me that you'll think about this…I assure you that even if Sirius does have another woman in his life, Harry and you are always going to be his priorities…there's no one in this world he loves more than you, child. You're his first-born child, the only living link he has to Athena…and nobody can ever replace you in his life…I promise you that…but please, for Sirius' sake, if he ever likes some woman and wants to give it a chance, don't get in the way of his happiness…because I know that if he ever feels that you don't want him to date someone, he won't ever be with any one…he'll do anything to put a smile on your face, child. And if it means sacrificing his own happiness for you, he'll do that as well-"

"I'll think about it," interrupted Acquila softly as Andromeda smiled.

"Thank you, darling," said Andromeda pressing a kiss onto Acquila's forehead.

"But…but who told you about Dad's school days? You said he never spoke to you about it," asked Acquila.

"Athena did, of course," Andromeda smiled. "Now do I get you something to eat? I'm sure you're hungry."

"Yes, thank you. What's Harry doing, Aunt Andy? I…I want to talk to him…"

"He's at the beach with Nymphadora, dear."

"Will you tell me when he comes back?"

"Of course, dear," smiled Andromeda as she left the room, leaving a pensive Acquila behind her.

**Xxx**

Having eaten a wizarding delicacy which Andromeda had made especially for her; Acquila sat in her room, reading the book on wandless magic which Hermione had given her as a birthday gift. She was still conflicted about the episode with Sirius. She knew that she had reacted rather extremely to the news report and William Flint's letter, but try as she might, she didn't like the thought of her Dad marrying someone else at all. He was her _father_! And she had finally gained a father after years of spending her life in an Orphanage, thinking that her parents were no more. And though she knew she was being rather childish, she wasn't at all looking forward to sharing her father with another woman and their future kids.

A small part of her mind told her that Aunt Andy was right. Her dad did deserve to live a happy life. But she did _not_ want a new mother. Though she had no memory of her own mother- except the one she had when the Dementors had attacked her, of Peter killing Athena- Acquila didn't want anyone to replace her mother, especially not someone like Marcus Flint's aunt.

But she did admit that she had been rather rude to her dad. She should have known better than to accuse him of hankering for a male Heir when she knew that he was nothing like the rest of the Blacks.

Acquila sighed as she went back to reading the book, hoping to find something on the strange incident with Voldemort where Harry had felt her pain.

"ACQUILA!"

Harry's loud shout startled her and the book fell out of her hands onto the floor with a thud.

"You startled me, Harry!" she exclaimed indignantly, but Harry rushed to her with a letter in hands and then hugged her tightly.

"What happened?" she asked him as he finally let her go; a wide smile blossoming on her face when she saw his grinning face.

"It's a letter from the Minister of Magic! He's made Sirius legally my guardian! Now I never have to go back to the Dursleys anymore!" he gushed happily.

"Wow!" exclaimed Acquila. Though Harry hadn't expressed his fears to her, she knew that deep down, he was a bit wary of having to go back to the Dursleys again.

_Dear Mister Potter,_

_With your Godfather, Sirius Black being acquitted of all charges, the Department of Family Affairs has transferred your guardianship from Mrs. Petunia and Mister Vernon Dursley to Mister Sirius Black._

_With effect from today, you are a legal ward of Mister Sirius Orion Black III, Head of the Houses of Black and Gamp. Mister Black will act as your guardian till you attain the age of majority._

_And I am pleased to tell you that it was using my influence as Minister of Magic that I expedited the process of transfer of guardianship that would otherwise have taken at least three weeks. _

_And if you need any further help, I will always be pleased to assist Mister Black as well as you in my capacity as Minister, and as a well-wisher of both your Noble Houses._

_Cornelius Oswald Fudge_

_Minister of Magic_

"I'm so happy, Harry! Now, you'll never have to go back to those evil Dursleys again! Nor that pig-headed Dudley," said Acquila, remembering the fat boy who had tried to harass Harry and her in the Muggle school that they had attended.

"I'm glad as well! The owl swooshed up to me when Dora was teaching me to swim! You should have seen the Muggles around us!" he chuckled, before continuing on a serious note, "I like living with Sirius, you know. And…it's nice…having someone who loves me so much…and he was my dad's best friend…my parents would probably have been happy to see me staying with Sirius-"

"I'm sure they're happy, Harry," she smiled; but she turned pensive again as she thought of Sirius.

"Are you still mad at him, Acquila?" Harry asked her as he sat beside her.

"No…I'm not…but I don't want him marrying someone else, Harry…"

"I think you should let him do what makes him happy, Acquila…he seems so sad at times… I think he keeps thinking of my parents and your mom…it must be hard for him…having to live without his friends…and all those years with the Dementors…he deserves a bit of happiness, doesn't he?"

Acquila gaped at Harry. Something within him had changed. And she wondered why it was that Harry seemed more in tune with her father than she herself was.

"I guess you're right…I should apologise to him for saying that he dated other girls when he dated my mum…I shouldn't have said that," she mumbled as Harry smiled slightly. He knew that Acquila hated apologising to people. Dora had told him that it was probably a Black trait- disliking having to apologise. And this was the second time that she would be saying sorry to her dad.

"What are you grinning for?" Acquila demanded.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Liar!" she said accusingly. "Tell me before I hex you with some spell wandlessly!"

"You can't use magic during the holidays, you know," he smirked, before continuing, "I was just thinking of how you hate saying sorry to people."

"I do, but that's because I rarely need to apologise. I am seldom wrong, you see," she smirked in a Sirius-like manner.

"You look so much like Sirius," he smiled.

She nodded before saying, "I have a lot to tell you-"

"About your nightmare last night?" he cut her off, and she realised that last night was the first time that she had ever confided in someone other than Harry.

"Yes," she said, before telling Harry all about her nightmare, and about what Andromeda had told her about Sirius.

**xxx**

Remus Lupin was deeply engrossed in reading 'Macbeth', a play written by the famous Muggle playwright William Shakespeare. Though he had been brought up in a wizarding family, Remus had always had a strange fascination for Muggle literature. And it was his interest in Muggle novels, which had led to him becoming friends with Lily, who was an avid reader herself. Just as he reached the scene where Macbeth came across the three witches, he heard an owl tapping at the window.

Remus let out a sigh of annoyance. Being interrupted while he was engrossed in a book was one of the only things that could annoy the normally unflappable Werewolf.

"I'm coming," he yelled, as the small owl clumsily stumbled onto his table and landed right into the large mug of coffee, which he had forgotten to drink while he was immersed in reading the intrigues of the Scottish Lord.

"Whom do you belong to, you clumsy fellow?" he asked the owl which managed to fly out of the mug; the cold coffee dripping from its feathers.

"Oh dear! Look at you," Remus sighed good-naturedly as he waved his wand over the owl, cleaning it in a trice.

"There, you're clean now," he smiled at the owl, which let out a grateful hoot of thanks and then preened its feathers with what seemed to be a smug look on it's tiny face; and then it held out its claw, to which a letter had been tied.

After Remus untied the letter, the owl flew off with another hoot, leaving Remus to gasp in surprise at the feminine scent mingled with the smell of coffee which his highly sensitive nose could discern- a scent associated with Nymphadora Tonks.

Remus groaned, muttering under his breath. He had told Sirius to stop encouraging the girl. But Sirius had probably paid no heed to him, and told the girl to write to him. He couldn't deny that Nymphadora was one of the few people who could make him laugh. She was a good person to be around; cheerful and carefree. She reminded him of a young Sirius sometimes. But Remus knew that he could never be with her in a romantic sense. He was far too old for her, far too poor; and then there was his affliction which plagued him on every full moon night. If it wasn't for all these factors, then perhaps he would have quite liked being with Nymphadora Tonks.

He opened the letter gradually and his eyes read through the lines.

_Remus, _

_Sirius and Acquila had an argument. And he left home saying he's going to visit you._

_Please let me know whether he has reached your house as he seemed rather disturbed._

_Tonks_

_P.S.- He mentioned that he needed a drink. _

"Damn!" Remus swore aloud. The Tonks lived far away from his current home. And it would have taken the owl at least a couple of hours to fly reach him. That meant that Sirius had probably drunk enough to get hung over for the next three days.

Remus entered the room that had belonged to him since his childhood, hurriedly opening the wardrobe to pull out a Muggle coat from the pile of his meticulously folded clothes.

He hoped that Sirius had used his common sense and decided to visit a Muggle pub than a wizarding one, as Remus knew that once Sirius got over his hangover, he would have no wish to see his drunken photographs plastered all over the front page of the Daily Prophet. If Sirius had gone to a Muggle pub, the possibility of wizarding journalists managing to capture his photographs would be much lesser than in a wizarding pub.

On hearing a loud knock at the door, Remus paused in the act of pulling on the coat, as he placed the coat on the bed and walked towards the door.

His ears caught the sound of unsteady feet, followed by what seemed like something heavy falling onto the door, and he smelt the pungent smell of strong alcohol. He opened the door gradually as the loud knocking ceased; his wand held tightly in his left hand out of habit.

"Who's-Ugh-" Remus felt the wind getting knocked out of him as an enormous weight fell right onto him.

Another man would have slumped right onto the floor, but though Remus didn't look strong, his lycantrophy had caused him to possess great strength.

"What the hell-" Remus swore uncharacteristically as he pushed the massive man onto the couch. He had recognised the man of course, having smelt his familiar scent beneath the stench of alcohol.

The man was extremely obese; his robes seemed to be splitting at the seams. And his hair was cropped short. The only thing familiar about the man was the pair of grey eyes which were staring at Remus.

"Moooooneeeeey!" said the drunken man in a sing-song voice.

"You are crazy, Padfoot," growled Remus, and a wave of his wand later, the obese man turned into Sirius Black. Another wave and Sirius' clothes turned back to normal.

"Hey! 'M not crazy...my mother was crazy...old hag...Balwurga...and my cousin...the bitch...Bella...Bella...what was her name..." Sirius slurred drunkenly, bringing the bottle in his hand to his lips, the liquid dripping down his chin.

"Oi!" he let out a shout of outrage as Remus vanished the bottle with a non-verbal incantation.

"Give it back, Noomey!" he demanded, extending his hand.

Remus sighed, knowing that a sobering potion was the need of the hour.

"It's Mooney, Sirius, not Noomey!" he said, as he stood up to walk to the cabinet where he stored his potions, praying that the sobering potion he had, was still good enough for use.

"Moo...Mooo…Moooooney," said Sirius, mooing like a cow, before he dissolved into a sniggering fit.

Remus came back with the sobering potion, and a vial of a vomit-inducing potion to make Sirius vomit out, knowing that he would be sick sooner or later.

"So, Sirius, why the glamour charms? I'm sure you looked just like Harry's whale of an Uncle whom Acquila told me about," he said.

"Glamour charms...the Muggles in the pub recognised me...said they saw me on the tv...or was it tb? Tele...tele something," Sirius laughed again as Remus muttered, "Television!"

"I'm famous in the Muggle world too...wish...wish I could tell Jamie..." he said chuckled brokenly.

"Please tell me that you didn't perform the Glamour charms in front of the Muggles at the pub, Padfoot. I have no wish to accompany you to a Wizengamot hearing for the breaking the Statute of Secrecy-"

"What? Statue?" mumbled Sirius before retching and vomiting all over Remus' couch.

"Statute," said Remus through gritted teeth as he vanished the pool of sick and dispatched the vial of vomit-inducing potion back to the cabinet. It hadn't been needed after all.

An hour and a half, another vomiting spell and an entire cup of sobering potion later, Sirius was back to his senses as he sat massaging his head which was suffering from a splitting headache.

"Give me a potion to stop the headache, Mooney...please," he said.

"You think I will? A strong headache should serve as a deterrent to you...stop you from getting this drunk again," Remus smirked, before handing over a vial of a potion to curb the headache.

Sirius glared at Remus before gulping down the potion in one go.

"So, Padfoot! Mind telling me why you chose to disguise yourself as Harry's Uncle?"

Sirius groaned loudly.

"I didn't want to look like Vernon Dursley! I went to a Muggle pub thinking I'll get some peace and quiet with no one recognizing me there. But they all seemed to know me! Bloody Fudge! There were reports of me in the Muggle newspapers too saying that I wasn't a criminal anymore…Merlin! People in the pub started pointing at me! And so I used a few of the tricks which Mad-Eye had taught me during Concealment & Disguise for Auror training-"

"So you chose to disguise yourself into an extremely obese man whom no one would notice," Remus rolled his eyes, while Sirius threw a punch at him which Remus dodged easily.

"So, Sirius, how about you tell me of the argument between Acquila and you?" asked Remus and another loud groan later, Sirius launched into a narration of all that had taken place.

"You are so tactless, Padfoot…so tactless," sighed Remus.

"Hey! I am not tactless! She cannot question me over whether I was faithful to Athena or not! And she read a letter addressed to me! She had no right to do so!"

"But you didn't need to yell at her and send her back to her room! She's not a small kid! And she's just getting to know you well! She's never had the experience of having a father. You can't just expect her to-"

"That doesn't mean she can question me about my past-"

Remus started sniggering suddenly.

"Don't laugh!" muttered Sirius in annoyance.

"Remember I always used to tell you that all those trysts of yours with girls is going to come back and bite you in your-"

"Damn you, Mooney!" Sirius growled. "You were right! I should have listened to you! I know I didn't like half the girls I dated…I just did it for the attention I got and to make Athena jealous…but how on earth was I to know that my daughter is going to question me about my colourful past? How could I have known that Athena wouldn't be here to help me deal with the kids? I can't manage it, Remmy…I can't! I have no bloody experience of dealing with pre-teens, let alone being a father-"

"Hey!" Remus interrupted him softly, "You _can _be a good father, Sirius! Hell! You _are_ a good father! You think Acquila would have reacted this extremely to the thought of you remarrying if she hadn't loved you? She loves you, Padfoot; which is why she felt insecure about you marrying again-"

"There was no bloody need for her to feel insecure! Why the hell would I even think of a new woman? I love Athena, Remmy! I still love her, though she's no more! And no one, absolutely no one can fill up the void Athena's left in my life! I miss her, Mooney…I miss her so badly…you don't know how I spent the ten years in Azkaban knowing that I lost the only girl whom I had ever loved…she meant the world to me, Remmy…" he trailed off, and Remus was at quite a loss of how to react. Sirius had never spoken about his years in Azkaban.

"I couldn't remember any of the happy memories, you know…all I could think of was all the bad ones…my mum cursing me…the day I sent Snivellus after you in the Whomping Willow…" Sirius continued, oblivious to Remus stiffening slightly.

"And the day Bellatrix tortured her when she was pregnant with Acquila…James and Lily's dead bodies…you don't know how I felt when I saw Jamie dead…he was slumped on the floor…his glasses askew…something within me broke that day, Mooney…he took a part of me with him…Merlin! I even referred to Harry as James…every bloody time I look at Harry, it reminds me of Jamie…it's like constant torture, you know…it's like looking at an eleven-year old Prongs…since I first met him in the train, he was my brother…the one person who understood me better than I ever understood myself…and seeing him lying dead there…" Sirius mumbled in a choked voice, his eyes glistening with tears.

"And Athena…when I bid goodbye to her that night…I never thought I wouldn't see her again…if I knew that the bastard was going to murder her…Damn! I never even got a chance to tell her how much I loved her, Remmy…I…I don't know how I am going to live without her …I just don't know…when Acquila furrows her brow when she's thinking…it reminds me of Athena…but…but there's no one to talk to …I used to tell her everything..and now she just isn't there! I couldn't even attend her funeral! I wasn't even there when she was…" he faltered, not wanting to think of Athena's lifeless body being lowered into the coffin.

"When I try to sleep…it hurts my very soul that she isn't there by my side…I can't even sleep properly on that bloody bed! I've got too used to sleeping on the stone floor in Azkaban or on the grounds of the Forbidden Forest…I don't even get sleep unless I take the dreamless sleep potion…bloody nightmares! I…I can't think of even dating someone else, let alone marrying again…you know, Mooney…if it wasn't for the kids, I wouldn't even have wanted to live…sometimes, all I wish for is to…Hell! I am rambling, am I not?" he chuckled softly, as Remus shifted closer to him, putting his arm around Sirius.

But as he made to speak, Sirius let out a sudden snarl of anger. "I'm going to kill that bastard! I haven't forgotten what he did…I was too engrossed in reacquainting myself with the kids…but I'm not going to let him get away with just an Azkaban sentence. He killed my wife! He murdered her in cold blood! And if it wasn't for his sudden sense of guilt, he would have killed Acquila too! And he as good as killed Lily and Prongs as well! It's because of _him _that both my children grew up as orphans! I'm going to petition to the Wizengamot for a death sentence for the rascal-"

"Sirius!" gasped Remus. He had known that Sirius' anger against Pettigrew had been subdued for the past few days on account of the kids, but he didn't know that Sirius hated him with such vehemence.

"Don't 'Sirius' me, Mooney! Don't you want him to be killed as well?" Sirius snarled.

"I do, Padfoot," he replied. "But I think an Azkaban sentence will make him suffer much more than his death will. He is going to spend his time there reliving all his bad memories, Sirius. Isn't that punishment enough for him-"

"IT'S NOT!" roared Sirius. "Damn! Let's not talk of this…we were talking of Acquila, weren't we? Let's talk of that," he said.

"But-"

"No," said Sirius firmly, before chuckling slightly. "I blabbered a lot more after the sobering potion than I did when I was drunk, didn't I?"

Remus smiled softly.

"I should get going, Mooney," he said, as he stood up.

"But-"

"I'm alright, Mooney…I'll just go back and talk to Acquila…I shouldn't have yelled at her…I need to behave like a good father and try to understand my children's thoughts and insecurities," he smiled softly.

"Alright. I'll come around the day after tomorrow. I want to meet the kids-"

"Is Nymphie included in 'kids'?" Sirius asked him teasingly as Remus rolled his eyes.

"Yes," he replied smirking, as Sirius eyes widened in disbelief.

"You want to meet Nymphie?" he asked him.

"I don't mind meeting her, but then she is included in 'kids'…so you can't possibly try to set me up with someone I consider a kid, can you?" he smiled slyly as Sirius made a rather rude hand gesture at him.

"Don't do that in front of Harry and Acquila, Sirius. Andromeda might just decide to hex you," chuckled Remus as Sirius departed with a roll of his eyes.

After Sirius had left, Remus picked up his copy of Macbeth again, but then put it down as he thought of what Sirius had said. Ted had been right.

Remus had met Ted Tonks the previous day to discuss the effect the Dementors had had on Sirius' mind. And Ted had told him that Sirius needed to visit a mind-healer. Ted had even been ready to take in Sirius as his patient, despite his rather busy schedule.

But Remus knew that Sirius would have never agreed to open up his mind and his thoughts to a Healer. And Ted had suggested that Remus was probably the only likely person to whom Sirius would share his thoughts with. And Remus was glad that Sirius was slowly but surely trying to talk of the concerns which plagued his minds.

Remus shuddered at the thought of what Sirius must have gone through on discovering James and Lily lying lifeless in their house at Godric's Hollow; followed by hearing of Athena's death and Acquila's supposed murder. And then ten long years with the Dementors followed by a year on the run from the Aurors. Remus worried about Sirius, and the multitude of concerns which faced him, including having to become a father to two pre-teens. But he knew that Sirius was nothing if not a strong-willed person. And Remus knew that he would get through all this with a little help from Andromeda, Ted and Remus himself.

**Xxx**

_A few hours earlier,_

Narcissa Malfoy sat by the window in the elegant drawing room of Malfoy Manor, glancing at the young albino peafowl which was snuggling against its mother. The loving scene between the peahen and her child reminded her of the time she spent with Draco during his infancy. And deep within her, she felt a sorrow which she was well-acquainted with- knowing that she would never have the chance to caress her own little child again.

How she had longed for a daughter! Of course, giving birth to Draco had been a miraculous in itself. It had been two miscarriages and three years of trying to conceive a child later, that Draco had been born. She still remembered the Healer handing over the pink wailing infant to her, swaddled in the costliest of cloth. For a minute, she hadn't been able to believe that it was her own child that she had been holding; hadn't been able to believe that her wish of being a mother had finally come true. She had finally done her duty towards the family she had been married into- providing them with a male heir to carry on the blood-line.

And then, there had been the long years of trying for another child- years which had resulted into nothing. Though she loved her family, it felt incomplete. And she knew that it would only have been complete if she had a little daughter to love- a daughter who she imagined would have inherited Narcissa's own features, since Draco seemed to have inherited none of the same.

And though she would never admit to even thinking of it, she knew that it was the close blood relation she had with Lucius, which had probably resulted in complications with conceiving a child. Lucius and she were first cousins. Her mother Druella's half-sister, Belinda Rosier, had been Lucius' mother, who had died while giving birth to her second child- a little girl who perished in infancy. After Belinda's death, the Blacks and the Malfoys had decided to renew the alliance between the families by betrothing Lucius to Narcissa. And though it hadn't been a marriage of love, Lucius and she had learnt to love the other. They had had their fair share of ups and downs, with the ups outnumbering the downs since Narcissa had always given in to what Lucius wanted- whether it was about the way their son was to be brought up, or about the people they should ally with.

But now, with Sirius being a free man, she wondered if it was time for her to stand up for what she felt was right. Of course, she knew that if the Dark Lord ever returned, Lucius _would _support him, and he would make Draco support him as well.

But what had they gained by supporting the Dark Lord? Lucius would have been languishing in Azkaban, if it wasn't for the money and clout he possessed which had allowed him to be acquitted of all charges.

And she had lost Bellatrix to the Dementors. She couldn't deny that Bella had always been rather insane and prone to bouts of violence. But it was after she joined the Dark Lord, that she had turned into the scary woman that she was. And though she didn't want to admit it even to herself, Narcissa knew that she hated Bella for what she had done to the Longbottoms. Being a mother to a son who was Neville Longbottom's age, she had felt truly sorrowful that the child would grow up without his parents. It was the Dark Lord who had turned Bella into a deranged witch who took immense pleasure in torturing others.

And then, she had lost Regulus. She had always loved Regulus; he was a bright little child, always wanting to put a smile on everyone's face, always trying to emulate Sirius. And then after Aunt Walburga had lost her wits, Reg had changed. And it hadn't been a change for the better, but for the worse. He had turned into a dark, brooding boy who had been burdened with standing up to what Pollux, Arcturus and Walburga expected from the Black Heir. The little boy with his bright grey eyes and charming smile had vanished; and had been replaced by a much darker version. But it was the Dark Lord who had finally murdered Reg- and with Reg, he had taken away the hopes of the entire Black family.

And Narcissa believed that it had been Reg's death which had hastened the deaths of the rest of the Blacks- especially the older ones. Wizards and Witches generally lived to a ripe old age; but with Regulus dead, the Blacks seemed to have lost their will to survive, resulting in their relatively early deaths. Walburga's descent into insanity had hastened after Regulus had passed away, resulting in her death in 1985. Pollux and Arcturus too had followed a few years later; and they had died bemoaning that the Black family line was on the verge of extinction with Reg dead and Sirius in prison.

The Dark Lord had given her nothing; on the contrary, he had taken everything from Narcissa- including her mother Druella, who had passed away three years after Draco's birth- unable to get over the elopement of one daughter and the life-imprisonment of the other.

Narcissa sighed deeply. How had her thoughts jumped from watching the peahen to the Dark Lord? To be frank, her confused and jumbled thoughts of late, had been a huge source of annoyance to her. Never before had Narcissa been this unsure and conflicted about something.

"Cissy!" Lucius' drawling voice brought her out of her reverie.

"Lucius," she nodded in acknowledgement, walking up to him to kiss him chastely on his cold lips, to which he responded ardently, grabbing her waist and pulling her close to him- which was rather uncharacteristic of him.

"Do I assume that something has occurred which has pleased you immensely, husband?" she asked him after he had finally let go of her almost a minute later.

"Indeed," he smirked at her.

"Is it to do with the Daily Prophet reports?" she asked him.

Much to Lucius' chagrin, the newspapers had published rather lengthy articles debating the reasons for which Sirius had wanted Acquila's guardianship to be granted to Andromeda and not Narcissa- which in turn had led to a revival of the issues surrounding Lucius' Death-Eater days, with people bringing up their suspicions that Lucius had bribed the Ministry and the Wizengamot members to get away from an Azkaban sentence.

"Yes, Cissy," he replied, still smirking. "I met the bumbling idiot today."

"Cornelius Fudge," she said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yes. Fudge. He told me of some information which that toad-faced Undersecretary of his, has managed to obtain. It pertains to Harry bloody Potter," he said, oblivious to Narcissa stiffening slightly on hearing Harry's name.

"What sort of information?"

"Do you know how the Muggles who raised Harry treated him? He spent his childhood in a cupboard under the staircase! Imagine the headlines in the Prophet tomorrow! 'Boy-who-lived mistreated by his Muggle relatives'!"

"He lived in a cupboard?" she gasped.

"Oh yes! They made him work like a house-elf, apparently!" Lucius laughed vilely.

"Made him wash those metal contraptions in which Muggles travel, and forced him to wash dishes and mow the lawn! His Uncle even verbally abused him at times!"

"Does Sirius know of this?" she asked him, trying to maintain her poise.

"Of course he doesn't!" he snarled. "You think Black would want the world to know of the ill-treatment Potter suffered? Potter's his Godson. And though Draco states otherwise, my sources tell me that Potter is the exact opposite of his attention-seeking father. He rather dislikes being in the spotlight. And though Potter isn't going to like his pathetic childhood to be put on display for the world, it works very much in our favour, doesn't it, Cissy?"

Narcissa nodded.

"Firstly, the report will take away all the attention from me and our family. And secondly, it'll lead to public outrage against Muggle-kind. No Wizard or witch would like knowing that their _saviour _was made to do household chores and sent to bed without food by his Muggle relatives," he sneered. "And I'm sure the attacks on Muggles will start again, just like when the Dark Lord was in power. And why, I might even have a chance to show some Muggles where exactly they belong. It's been a long time since I've used my wand against a filthy Muggle, hasn't it? It's an entertainment I'm looking forward to," he smirked.

"When will the report be published, Lucius?" she asked him, trying to maintain a smiling face.

"Tomorrow morning," he smiled triumphantly.

"That's wonderful," she replied.

"I'll be back in some time, Cissy. I'll talk to some of the old lot about the Muggle attacks. I'm sure Avery and Yaxley will be looking forward to it," he smirked and stepped into the Fireplace and departed in a surge of green flames.

Half an hour later, Narcissa sat at the edge of her bed, clasping and unclasping her hands in a nervous manner. If her mother, Druella had been before her, she would certainly have chastised Narcissa for her un-ladylike wringing of hands. And Druella would have berated her even harder for the thoughts which were currently traversing through Narcissa's mind.

A good wife was supposed to love, cherish and obey her husband. And Druella had ingrained into Narcissa's mind that obedience was one of the most important qualities that a pure-blood wife should possess. And unlike Bellatrix and Walburga, who had exercised complete control over their husbands, Narcissa had always obeyed Lucius; always did as he ordered her to; and her compliance with his wishes had led to a smooth-sailing married life with hardly any clashes.

But as she saw her husband enter the room, she knew that she would probably have to be something other than the docile wife she had been since their wedding day.

"Is something wrong, Cissy? You seem unwell," he said to her, the perennial coldness in his eyes being replaced by concern.

"No, Lucius. I'm alright," she smiled rather weakly at him.

"I'll have a quick bath and then we can spend some time with Draco today. How about you watching us play a game of Quidditch?" he said and Narcissa nodded as he proceeded to the bathroom.

Of all days why did Lucius have to behave like a doting father and husband today? Narcissa had half a mind to let her resolve falter away.

But as she smelt the fragrance of the bathing oil that Lucius used, she knew she had to make a decision as quickly as possible.

If the Daily Prophet went ahead with the report on Harry Potter, Sirius would be utterly incensed at the invasion of his Godson's private life. And in the backlash against Muggles which would follow, she knew that Lucius and Sirius would be at opposite ends again.

Sirius, with his Muggle-tolerating nature, would work to end the Muggle attacks; while Lucius would be part of the group of former Death Eaters which would indulge in Muggle torture under the guise of protesting against Potter's treatment.

And then all the plans for Draco and Acquila's future betrothal would come to naught. Sirius would never let Acquila marry the son of a man who took pleasure in torturing and killing defenceless Muggles. And whatever little progress she had made in her relationship with Sirius would vanish

She couldn't let that happen at any cost. She couldn't let the barely-mended rift with Sirius flare up again, just because Lucius wanted to hex some Muggles. Of course, she knew that the publishing of Harry's abusive childhood would take away all the attention from the recent backlash against Lucius. But was it worth alienating herself from the Head of her family? Was it worth facing the wrath of Sirius and putting paid to the possibility of Acquila and Draco's betrothal?

Of course, it wasn't! The foremost matter on her agenda was mending bridges with Sirius again- and not just because she wanted to get into his good books for Draco's future, but also because Sirius was the only family she had left if she discounted Meda. Sweet Slytherin! She hadn't referred to the blood-traitor Andromeda as 'Meda' in years.

Narcissa stood up, trying to clear her mind of her conflicting thoughts.

She would _have _to tell Sirius about the report which was to be published. She knew that with his recent popularity, Sirius had enough influence with the Ministry to stop his Godson's childhood to be put on display to all of Wizarding Britain. And then, there was the added advantage of Sirius realising that Narcissa was indeed on his side. He would know that she was ready to go to any lengths, including defying her own husband to notify Sirius of the plan Lucius had concocted with Fudge.

Her thoughts were disrupted as Lucius came out of the bathroom in a towel. As he started putting on his robes, Narcissa took a deep calming breath and called out to him.

"Lucius?"

"Yes, Cissy?"

"I want to go to visit my mother's grave," she said.

Never before had she lied this blatantly to her husband. She thanked her mother mentally for all the years of training her to maintain an impassive façade. If she hadn't, Narcissa knew that she would probably have been cowering and stammering in fear. But now, there was nothing which gave away her fear and discomfort at lying to her husband, except for her heart hammering wildly in her ribcage.

"Why, all of a sudden, Narcissa?" he asked her with a shrewd expression on his face.

"I've been thinking of mother since morning, remembering my childhood with her and Bella. I haven't visited her grave since almost a year, Lucius. May I go?" she asked him.

Lucius said nothing for a moment. Never before had Narcissa expressed a desire to visit her mother's grave, except on the anniversaries of her death. But perhaps, she was missing her mother. Since his own mother, Belinda had passed away when he was just seven years old, he hadn't had a mother-figure for most of his life; and thus he didn't know how it was to miss one's mother. In addition to that, Lucius had never really been one for emotions. And though Narcissa was always outwardly cool and impassive, Lucius knew that his wife was a woman, and she did possess emotions and feelings characteristic of the fairer sex, beneath her icy exterior.

"Of course, you may go, Cissy," he replied finally. "I will accompany you."

He saw a momentary emotion flicker in her eyes- an emotion which he had never seen before. Was it guilt? Or fear? But before he could decipher it, it had been replaced by the usual coldness in her blue eyes.

"May I go there alone, Lucius? I just need some time with my mother," she said, letting a slight expression of grief mar her beautiful features, letting the Slytherin within her take over.

"Of course, darling," he said, pressing a kiss on her forehead; wanting to comfort her. Though Lucius knew that he and his wife hadn't married for love, he did indeed care for the mother of his heir. He perhaps didn't love her as much as other husbands did, but he _did _love her, and disliked seeing her upset.

"Thank you, Lucius," she said, preparing to depart after a grateful smile at her husband.

**xxx**

It was late evening by the time Sirius walked across the lawn leading to Ted Tonks' house. He paused in mid-step as he glanced up at the sky. The gradually darkening sky was filled with a myriad of shades, ranging from hues of orange and pink to tints of red. A flock of birds flew across the last remnants of the day's sunlight.

Sirius felt an inexplicable sense of peace as he suddenly lay down on the grass which was slightly damp with the evening dew. He put his arms behind his head, and observed the changing shades of the sky, oblivious to everything else around him as a long-forgotten memory crept into his mind.

_"Are you tired, love?" _

_"No, Sirius," replied Athena. _

_She and Sirius lay side by side on the lawn behind the McKinnon Mansion which Athena's mother had meticulously maintained. They both looked at the darkening sky, where the first stars were beginning to shine._

_"Are you hungry?"_

_"No." _

_"Are you sure? What if the baby's hungry? You haven't eaten since almost half an hour!" _

_Athena rolled her eyes._

_"The baby must be smaller than the size of your fist, darling... I don't think it's hungry."_

_"I can't wait for it to grow up so that I can feel it kick," he said, placing his hand on her currently-flat stomach._

_"Easy for you to say," huffed Athena, who disliked the thought of her impending weight-gain. "I'm the one who is sick all day. And I'm the one who's going to get as big as a house as the baby grows,"_

_ "I don't mind that, sweetheart," winked Sirius. "I'll love you as much as I do now whether you are as huge as a Hippogriff or even when you become old with wrinkles on your face!" he chuckled as he lifted the hem of her shirt to press a kiss onto her still-flat belly._

_"And I'll love you even when you become old and grey and bald," she replied, squirming as the stubble on his chin tickled her stomach._

_"Hey!" protested Sirius, "I'm never going to get bald! I like my hair long-" _

_The rest of his words were lost, as Athena pulled him closer for a kiss, which turned into quite a heated one as he rolled over to pull her on top of him, his hands roaming over her back while Athena's fingers weaved through his unshorn hair._

_"Oi!" _

_A loud shout put a sudden end to their kiss as Sirius groaned in annoyance, while Athena blushed in embarrassment._

_"Why do you always need to interrupt us at the wrong time, Marley?" Sirius asked Marlene, Athena's sister, who stood towering above them with her hands on her hips and a mischievous glint in her cornflower-blue eyes._

_"And why do you always need to defile my little sister before my very eyes, Black?" she retorted. _

_"Oh come on, Marleymoo! _You _are like a sister to me, but I don't remember interrupting you when I saw Fabian bidding you a rather heated goodbye after the Order meeting," winked Sirius as he sat up and started brushing the grass off his shirt. _

_"When did you see us?" gasped Marlene, while Athena sputtered in surprise, "You're seeing Fabian Prewett?"_

A sudden rustling sound brought Sirius out of his thoughts and he stood up suddenly, his wand in his hand, as he walked towards the hedges that stood beside the gate leading to the lawn, knowing that there was someone there.`

He heard firm masculine footsteps walking towards him briskly from the house.

"Sirius! Someone's trying to breach the wards!" whispered Ted as he reached Sirius, his wand raised.

"I know…I heard the rustling of robes…and soft footsteps…I think it's a woman," Sirius whispered in reply as the two of them walked towards the gate.

"Sirius!" he heard a familiar voice call out from beyond the gate.

"Cissy?" gasped Sirius, as Ted's eyes widened in surprise. What was Narcissa Malfoy doing at the house of her disowned sister and her Muggle-born brother-in-law?

"Charm the wards to let her in, Ted," muttered Sirius, his wand still held in a combative hold, and Ted hesitated for a moment, before nodding and waving his wand in a complicated manner as Sirius felt a sudden swoosh of air, and he knew that the wards had been altered to allow Narcissa in.

Narcissa stepped in through the gate, eyeing the house before him in distaste, before throwing a slightly disdainful look at Ted and then looking at Sirius.

"My, my! I never thought I would see my dear cousin in a Muggle-born's house," smirked Sirius as Andromeda walked up to them.

"Cis…Narcissa!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

But Narcissa didn't reply. She grabbed onto Sirius' arm almost painfully.

"I need to talk to you, Sirius. Quick! I don't have much time," she said urgently.

"What's the matter?" enquired Sirius. Was it fear that he was seeing in Narcissa's usually cold eyes? Or was that guilt?

"Can we talk in private? Alone," she replied, looking pointedly at Andromeda and Ted.

"Whatever you want to say, say it in front of them. They are-" started Sirius, but Andromeda cut him off.

"Take her to the study, Sirius," she said in a voice which merited no protest and Sirius nodded grudgingly, bidding Narcissa to follow him into the house.

"What do you think she's here for?" muttered Ted as they stared at Narcissa almost gliding through the path leading to the house.

"I don't know Ted. But whatever it is, I know that Malfoy has no clue about it. Did you see the uneasiness in her eyes? I am sure she has come here without telling her husband. Probably the first time she has hidden something from Malfoy," Andromeda replied as she led Ted towards the house.

**xxx**

"What is it, Narcissa? Andy is my cousin! And whatever you need to tell me could have been said in front of her!" said Sirius.

"I have no time to deal with all that, Sirius," she replied firmly as Sirius saw her eyes darting towards the clock on the wall.

He wanted to ask her if she had come here without Lucius' permission, but he knew better than to waste her time.

"Speak," he said, as Narcissa sat down on the chair.

"Your Godson was mistreated by his Muggle relatives, wasn't he? I have-"

"How do you know of that?" exclaimed Sirius. As far as he knew, Harry had never told anyone apart from his friends and family about the Dursleys. And Narcissa and Draco fell in neither the 'friends' category, nor the 'family' one.

"Listen!" she hissed. "Fudge has got wind of the ill-treatment Potter suffered at the hands of the Muggles-"

"What the-"

"And he is getting a report published in the Daily Prophet tomorrow, detailing the abuse they subjected Potter to-"

"That bastard! He has no right! I am going to strangle him-wait," he stopped in mid-sentence.

"Lucius told you of this, didn't he?" he asked her.

Narcissa nodded infinitesimally.

"Yes, Lucius told me. And you know where his loyalties lay during the war, don't you?" she asked him, hoping that Sirius would take her hint and put his brains to good use. She saw his brow furrowing in thought for a moment, before his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Fudge wishes to print the report to distract the attention of the press from the injustice meted out to me so that they stop criticizing him…and Lucius wishes for the report to be published to awaken anti-Muggle sentiments in people," he said, not waiting for her affirmation of his hunch.

"But why in Merlin's name are _you _telling _me _this? You've come here, without informing your husband to warn me of his own plans? Why, Narcissa? And here I thought you were a Malfoy-"

"I am a Malfoy," she said calmly, "But before that, I am a Black. And Blacks stay true to their own blood. And though you may not wish to believe it, I have always loved you, Sirius. You always preferred Andromeda to me, and you have never loved any of our family. But you _are_ my cousin, and you will always remain so. And now, you are the Head of my House as well. I may have married into the Malfoy family, but I will always remain a Black at heart."

Sirius said nothing, as his grey eyes bored into hers; and she wondered if he was using Legillimency against her, before dismissing the thought. The five Black cousins had learnt Occlumency at the knees of their grandfather Pollux. And she knew that both, Sirius and she had been taught well enough to prevent people from entering their minds; and she could feel no tug at the shields protecting her mind.

"You are such an intriguing lady, Cissy," he muttered. "I wish I could know what lies in that tricky mind of yours.

"I wish I knew it myself," she remarked almost inaudibly in a rare display of frankness.

"I'll escort you to the Manor," he said as she got up to depart.

"No…I don't want Lucius to see you," she replied.

He nodded, before kissing her cheek.

"Thank you, Cissy."

"You're welcome," she smiled slightly, before looking at him hesitantly.

"Don't-" she started, but he cut her off: "I will tell no one that you informed me of this; not even the kids. I give you my word," he assured her.

"Thank you," she whispered, before disillusioning herself and walking out of the room at a quick pace.

Sirius stared at her disillusioned figure which shimmered as the light from the overhead electric lights fell on it at frequent intervals till she finally went out of his line of sight.

He started pacing around the room. Why had Narcissa come to warn him?

"Damn!" he swore aloud, annoyed at not being able to decipher his cousin's true motives. Out of all his cousins, Narcissa had always been the one who was the toughest to decode. Try as he might, Sirius had never succeeding in knowing what lay beneath her icy demeanor and her impassive face. Why had she gone against the husband who had always controlled her to come and warn Sirius of his plan? Why had Narcissa taken pains to step into the house of a Muggle-born whom the Blacks had sworn to kill just to inform Sirius of Lucius' plan?

But Narcissa's true motives could wait. He had to deal with the problem at hand first.

Lucius! How he hated that man! Bloody death-eater! Sirius knew very well of what Malfoy was intending to do. The news of Harry having been mistreated by his Muggle relatives would not only distract the press from vilifying Lucius for his role in the war-crimes, but would also provoke widespread outrage among the wizarding public at large. Even Muggle-supporters would be appalled at the abuse Harry suffered at the hands of the Dursleys. And it would give the Death-Eaters an excuse to indulge in Muggle-torture and killings in the name of avenging the treatment meted out to Harry.

And Fudge! How he hated that idiot of a Minister! Batty old fool! All Fudge cared about was consolidating his post as the Minister of Magic. But how dare he drag Harry into his schemes!

Fudge had no right at all to let the world know of Harry's miserable childhood! In the short span of time that he had spent with Harry, Sirius had realised that his Godson was a very private person who rather disliked the attention he attracted for being Voldemort's vanquisher. And Sirius was _not _going to allow anyone to disclose details of Harry's pathetic childhood to the wizarding world! It was Harry's private issue! And James would have strangled the very people who tried to drag Harry into the limelight for their own gain!

Sirius needed to have a firm talk with Fudge at the earliest. And for the first time in his life, Sirius had no qualms about using the money, power and influence he held as the Head of the House of Black, if it meant that he could protect his godson from the media, and prevent the former death-eaters from attacking Muggles under the guise of avenging Harry.

He ceased his frantic pacing suddenly, and moved towards the door, only to find Harry and Acquila rushing towards him.

"Sirius! I am so happy! Look at this!" exclaimed Harry, as he rather shyly hugged Sirius around his middle.

"What's this, kiddo?" asked Sirius, as he hugged Harry and ruffled his messy hair, much to Harry's annoyance. He took the letter from Harry's hands; his eyes shining with joy, before narrowing in anger on spotting Fudge's name.

"Bast-" he stopped in mid-word, knowing that Andromeda would skin him alive for swearing in front of the kids.

"Aren't…aren't you happy, Sirius?" asked Harry in a small voice. He had expected Sirius to be happy that he had been officially granted Harry's guardianship, but Sirius seemed rather enraged.

"Of course, I'm happy, Prongslet! Nothing could make me happier than being legally declared you guardian," he said, patting Harry's back affectionately.

"But there's something I need to do urgently. We'll talk more about this when I'm back, alright?" he smiled at Harry.

"Dad?" said Acquila softly. "I wanted to-"

"Not now, Acquila," he said more sharply than he had intended to.

"You both have dinner and go to sleep. I'll come home late," he said, absently pressing a kiss onto Acquila's forehead before stalking away towards the door. He didn't even notice Acquila's hurt expression.

"He doesn't even want to talk to me," said Acquila brokenly.

"No, Acquila…I think he does have some important work…I'm sure he'll talk to you tomorrow morning-"

"But he spoke to you!" she said rather accusingly, a small trickle of envy entering her mind. Sirius was _her _father! But he seemed to pay more attention to Harry! And that just wasn't fair! As she saw the slightly pained expression on Harry's face, she realised that it wasn't Harry's fault that Sirius spoke to him rather than her.

"Let's go for dinner," she smiled at him, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the dining room, glad to see an answering smile on his face.

**xxx**

Sirius stood at the entrance to the Ministry of Magic, suddenly wishing he was still an Auror. Aurors could directly floo into the Ministry or enter it using the entrance for Ministry employees. But since he was no more a part of the Auror force, he would have to use the entrance meant for visitors. Though Sirius was apprehensive about Fudge's presence in the Ministry given the late hour, he was relieved to see that the Ministry building was far less crowded since most of the workers had already left, having completed their office hours.

He passed by a couple of wizards who gasped in surprise on spotting him and ignored them; his thoughts still on Harry. Should he have told Harry about this? Perhaps he should have since the matter pertained to Harry himself. But then it was Sirius' responsibility to protect Harry from anything untoward. He could tell Harry about it the next morning probably, once Sirius had had a long chat with the idiotic minister. No wonder Fudge had quickened the transfer of Harry's guardianship. He probably thought of it as a way to get into Sirius' good books.

"Sirius Black!" a deep throated masculine voice brought Sirius out of his thoughts.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt!" Sirius smiled at he shook the Auror's outstretched hand.

"What brings you here? An owl would've been enough to have brought the entire Ministry to your doorstep," Kingsley smiled wryly.

"I've come here to-Damn! That's Daniel Greengrass! I don't want to talk to him! Just take me to Fudge's office without him spotting me," said Sirius urgently, as the Auror chuckled and led Sirius through the lift through another route.

"I'm suddenly glad that I'm not rich and famous," said Kingsley as Sirius and he walked through the corridor leading to Fudge's office.

"I wish I were in your shoes, mate," replied Sirius as he cringed on remembering the eye-balls he had grabbed in the lift. The two young wizards in the lift had stared at Sirius as if he had sprouted an extra head, while the old lady had screamed at him saying she did not believe in his innocence and had accused Sirius of having bought his way out of Azkaban using the Black clout and fortune. The middle-aged witch in the corner of the lift meanwhile, had battled her eyelashes in what she perhaps thought was a seductive way, but one look at her and Sirius had inched as far away from her as was possible in the cramped lift.

"Second door on the right," said Kingsley as they came to a stop.

"Thanks," smiled Sirius as Kingsley made to leave.

"You're welcome, Sirius," replied Kingsley in his deep voice. "I hope to see you in the Auror Department soon. This year's batch is the last batch of trainees Mad-Eye's going to train before he retires. You might want to think of giving Moody his best student back, eh?" smiled Kingsley before walking away.

As Sirius walked towards Fudge's office, his thoughts strayed towards what Shacklebolt had said. Did he want to go back to becoming an Auror?

But as he read the Fudge's name on the nameplate on the door of the office, his anger came rushing back to him.

He wanted to barge into the room, but the manners that had been drilled into him when he was a kid somehow took over and he knocked onto the wooden door with his knuckles; the sound echoing through the stone corridor.

"Come in," said a high-pitched feminine voice.

Sirius raised an eyebrow in surprise. What was a woman doing in the Minister of Magic's office at the relatively late hour?

He opened the door and walked in, only to be faced by a short stout witch in robes of the brightest pink that Sirius had ever seen. He felt James' absence even more acutely as dozens of toad-related jokes swarmed his mind as he stared at the toad-faced lady.

"It's such a pleasure to see you here, Mister Black," she simpered as she stood up; rising only a few inches in height than she had been while she was sitting.

"I can't say the same," he murmured inaudibly before replying in a louder voice, "I wish to see the Minister."

"Hem hem! I am afraid the Minister is rather busy at the moment," she said in a falsely sweet tone. "But I am his undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. You may talk-"

"I want to see him right now," he barked, knowing he had no time to lose before the report was finalised for publication in the next morning's edition of the Prophet.

Umbridge smiled rather apologetically. "Your clout may work in certain other places, but this is-"

"I don't have time for this, woman," growled Sirius before wrenching open the door leading to the cabin within.

The Minister, who was standing by the window reading a piece of parchment gasped as he got startled by the door suddenly being pulled open; and the parchment he had been reading flew out of his hands and settled down on the ground.

"Oh my! Mister Black!" he exclaimed, as he rushed towards Sirius, extending his hand.

"Minister! I tried to stop him but-"

"Oh no, Dolores! I am so glad to see Mister Black here! Why don't you send for a couple of glasses of the finest elf-made wine!"

But Sirius brushed aside his outstretched hand and walked determinedly towards the parchment which lay on the floor; as Umbridge departed after shutting the door with a thud.

"Mister Bl…Black…give me that parchment…" spluttered Fudge on seeing Sirius' eyes darken with anger as his eyes roamed through the paper.

**_Boy-who-lived abused for a decade by his Muggle relatives_**

_In a startling revelation which brings to light the persecution of Wizards and witches by Muggles, an employee of the Ministry of Magic has discovered that Harry Potter, the savior of Wizarding Britain who led to the defeat of He-who-must-not-be-named in 1981 was ill-treated and verbally abused by his Muggle relatives with whom he has been staying since his parents, Lily and James Potter were killed by You-know-who._

_The Ministry source who wishes to remain un-named for obvious reasons states that the poor little orphan was made to live in a dingy cupboard under the stairs in the house of his maternal Aunt and Uncle who are Muggles. The boy-who-lived who rid us all of you-know-who's reign of terror was also made to cook ,wash the dishes manually , mow the lawn and perform various other Muggle chores in the sweltering heat of summer._

_"A house-elf would have been treated better! My heart goes out to the little child. I wept for hours on coming to know of his mistreatment," says the Ministry source._

_"The poor boy went to bed in tears each night as he thought of his parents who were no more and yearned for motherly love-_

Sirius read no more as he caught hold of Fudge by the scruff of his robes.

"How dare you even think of laying my Godson's private life before the entire world! And I am sure that Harry never cried! Stop turning him into something that he isn't! Harry has got more forbearance and courage than all of you Ministry fools put together! How dare you embellish the truth to fulfill your own motives! " he snarled as Fudge began clawing at Sirius' hands in an attempt to make him let go of his robes.

"No…no…Mister…mister Black…let go of me! I am the Minister!"

"Who the hell gave you the right to interfere in Harry's life? Whatever Harry faced in his childhood is between him and his relatives!"

"But…but he's a legendary boy! The wizarding world has s right to know-"

"The wizarding world has no bloody right! He is a child! He is just a boy of twelve and I am not going to let people like you drag him into the public eye!" shouted Sirius as he let go of Fudge who cowered back in fear, before grasping his wand which lay on the table.

"Has the draft of the report been sent for printing?" Sirius demanded as Fudge nodded his head fearfully.

"No…no…I was just about to approve it-"

"You are not going to get this printed! And I want whoever knows of this to sign an agreement stating that they are not going to reveal any of this to the press!"

"But Mister Black! You don't understand! The Ministry is facing a lot of flak for…for the issues concerning you-"

"And rightfully so!" snarled Sirius as his blazing eyes bore into Fudge's scared ones.

"It wasn't my fault! You can blame Crouch for it!"

"You are the Minister! You knew I hadn't been given a fair trial! Hadn't you come to visit me in Azkaban? I haven't forgotten that, Fudge!" spat Sirius angrily.

"Now are you going to give me an assurance in writing that the report will not be published? Or do I need to call for a Press Conference of my own? I have a lot of things to blame the Ministry for, Fudge? You value your post as Minister, don't you?" Sirius said with a smirk.

"You...you can't threaten me…" sputtered Fudge as his forehead glistened with beads of perspiration.

"It's more of a warning than a threat, Fudge! And I hope you know your laws well," replied Sirius.

"Laws…what laws?"

"The press cannot publish anything about a minor without the permission of his parents or guardian. And I am warning you…print one word about Harry and I will sue you and the Prophet!"

"You…you can't sue me! Sue the Prophet for all you wish! But I…I don't mean to hurt Potter…I just need something to divert attention from the flak the Ministry is facing-"

"The Ministry mess iss` for you to handle! Don't drag my child into this!"

"Alright…alright Mister Black…I won't get the report published," sighed Fudge, "And I will give you the agreements pledging the people who know of this to secrecy till Mister Potter comes of age," he continued after a stern glance from Sirius.

"But please Mister Black…will you …will you at least release a statement saying that you do not blame my Ministry for what you faced-"

"I will think of it," replied Sirius curtly.

"Thank you, Sir…Lord Black," sputtered Fudge, and Sirius bit back the urge to tell Fudge to stop with the 'Lord' business. The Head of the House of Black was traditionally referred to as Lord Black, but Sirius had never really felt the need to adhere to the ancient Pure-blood traditions. But in this case, he felt that he could rather let Fudge adhere to the formalities.

"You are welcome," replied Sirius with a nod as he made to leave.

"Let me know if there is anything I can do for you…I can help you out…like I did with Harry Potter's guardianship," Fudge called out.

Sirius stifled a smug grin. He was sure that Fudge was repenting having speeded up the guardianship transfer. If Sirius hadn't been Harry's guardian, Fudge could very well have got the report printed without fear of breaking any laws.

"There is one thing I need," said Sirius as he turned to look at Fudge, who seemed to be cursing the moment he asked Sirius whether he needed help.

"Ye…yes, Lord Black?"

"I need permission to create Portkeys…just for tomorrow…I have some business to attend to with my children," replied Sirius.

"Consider it done," said Fudge with a relieved look on his face. He had probably been expecting something worse.

Sirius nodded in acknowledgement.

"Can I use your fireplace?"

"Oh Yes! Why not!" exclaimed Fudge with a small smile, and Sirius departed in a surge of green flames.

**xxx**

Sirius trudged down the lawn leading to the Tonks' house again; glad to see the light shut in the window of Ted and Andromeda's room. He hadn't wanted them to wait up for him.

He crept up the stairs and went into his room, shedding off his robes and settling down into the bath-tub for a long bath. As he soaked himself into the hot water, he let out a sigh of contentment. He had never really been thankful for the simple luxuries that being a son of the House of Black, and then the House of Potter, had provided him with.

But after a decade in Azkaban and almost an entire year of subsisting on scraps of food in the dustbins of Hogsmeade and toast brought to him by Nyx, he had realised how he had taken things for granted since his childhood.

It was now that he realised the importance of simple comforts like a bath, good food and good clothes.

An hour later, he got out of the bath-tub and donned a robe, and then looked at his reflection in the mirror above the washbasin.

He looked much better than the mess he had been when he had first gone to the Infirmary. His face had retained much of its colour, and his eyes- though they still contained the haunted look- seemed much brighter. His cheeks were still sunken, but his face looked much better now, and less prisoner-like.

After drying his hair with a quick charm, he prepared to sleep. He had decided to try to sleep for an hour in his own room before going to Acquila's room in case she had a nightmare.

He lay down on the bed, wishing for sleep to consume him, but despite the long day he had had, sleep refused to visit him. He sat up with a groan of annoyance, and then pushed aside the covers and stood up.

He then walked up to the door, pulling it open, before walking towards Harry's room.

He opened the door to Harry's room and switched on the Muggle night-lamp which lay beside his bed, a small grin forming on his face as he looked at the spitting image of a younger James.

Sirius sat by Harry's side, and gently brushed away the hair from his forehead, staring intently at the scar on it. If it wasn't for the scar, Harry would have looked just like James since his bright green eyes were hidden behind his eyelids.

"I'll always take care of you, Prongslet," whispered Sirius as he kissed Harry's forehead, not noticing the small smile which bloomed on Harry's sleeping face.

Sirius arranged the blankets more snugly around Harry, before shutting the door softly as he left his room.

Sirius then went to Acquila's room, expecting to see her sleeping, but he was surprised to see her sitting by the window, her profile silhouetted against the moon rays. Nyx sprinted towards him, mewing softly as he caressed her furry head, before she crept into her basket in the corner.

"Hey!" he whispered softly.

"Hi, Dad," she replied, without turning back to look at him, as Sirius stifled a groan as he remembered that Acquila had tried to talk to him, but he had been too worried about going to talk to Fudge, to pay any heed to her.

"Couldn't…couldn't you sleep?" he asked her rather awkwardly. Why couldn't things even out between Acquila and him? He wished Acquila was as easy to deal with as Harry was, but then, he smiled wryly. Acquila wouldn't have been his daughter and a Black if she had been easy to deal with.

"I was waiting for you to come back," she replied as she turned around to finally look at him.

"But I told you not to wait up for me! You should have gone to sleep!" he exclaimed.

"I couldn't sleep knowing you were angry with me," she said as Sirius beckoned to her and she walked towards him slowly; her bare feet making soft sounds as they walked down the floor.

"I'm not angry with you, love-" started Sirius, but she continued, "And I had to apologise," she murmered.

"No, sweetheart…I should be apologising as well," he replied as they both sat down on her bed and he put his arm around her, pulling her towards him.

"No, Dad…I shouldn't have said what I said…I know you aren't like the other Blacks…you might not want a male heir-"

"Of course not!" he interjected. "I have you, Acquila. And you mean more to me than any male heir would! And Harry's like a son to me! I don't need another son!"

"I'm sorry-I'm really sorry for speaking to you the way I did," she said as he made to intervene…it's strange, you know…having a father…I've not been used to having a parent…but I'll try to be a good daughter to you, Dad," she whispered softly as she snuggled into his arms, her head lying on his chest as she listened to his steady heartbeat.

"You already _are_ a good daughter, love," he said, placing a kiss onto her head, while he fingered the bracelet which lay around her wrist.

"Athena had made this for you, you know," he continued.

"I didn't know that," she whispered.

"She had engraved your name onto it…She wanted to name you 'Aquila' for the constellation…it stands for the Eagle, you know…and since Athena was a Ravenclaw, she loved the idea of naming you after the Eagle…but I added a 'c' to your name…it's a variant of 'Aquila'…"

"I always wondered why the bracelet seemed to grow as I grew," she said softly, remembering the days in the Orphanage, when she had wondered whether the bracelet was magical, since she couldn't take it off, and it kept increasing in width as she grew up.

"Didn't you ever want a son?"

"Of course I did…but I wanted a son with Athena…I don't need a son now…not with another woman…you're going to remain my only child, Acquila…you don't need to worry about me marrying again…I have loved only one girl…and it's going to remain that way…"

Acquila opened her mouth to say that she would try not to mind if he wished to marry again, but then she said nothing. Honestly, she couldn't yet agree with the idea of her father wanting to date another woman.

"You wanted to say something, love?" Sirius asker her; noticing her pensive expression.

"Aunt Andy told me a lot about your childhood-"

Sirius sighed, interrupting her. "I need to have a talk with Andy about what she tells you kids," he muttered; knowing that he did not wish for either Harry or Acquila to be exposed to the many ills that had plagued his childhood at Grimmauld Place.

"I think you ought to sleep now. We have a long day ahead of us…a lot of places to visit to determine where we are going to stay," he smiled, changing the topic. He knew that Acquila probably had a lot of questions about his childhood, especially Regulus. But Regulus was a wound which still festered in a corner of his heart. And he wasn't ready to examine the wound at present, when he had a lot of other things to take care of.

"Good night, Dad," she smiled, kissing his cheek and lowering herself beneath the blankets.

"Good night, darling," he smiled in return.

"Can I…can I have some Dreamless Sleep Potion?" she asked him hesitantly.

"No, Acquila," he sighed. "Frequent consumption of it has certain side-effects. I'll be here if you have a nightmare, alright?"

"Okay," she agreed reluctantly, looking at Sirius as he turned into his Dog form and curled onto the carpet at the corner of her room.

"Don't you sleep at night…as you, I mean…in your human form?" she asked him, suddenly realising that she had never really seen Sirius sleeping in his human form.

The Dog gave her a strange look, his grey eyes glinting in the moonlight; before laying down his enormous head onto the carpet and shutting his eyes; not wanting to tell her that sleeping in his human form made him more susceptible to nightmares of Voldemort killing James and Lily, and Peter killing Athena.

Acquila sighed in annoyance, wondering what plagued her father, before falling into slumber.

**xxx**

The next morning dawned sunny and bright. And after checking all the pages of the Daily Prophet to ensure that Fudge had indeed kept his word, Sirius decided to take the children on a visit to the properties owned by the Blacks and the Potters.

"Let's go to Potter Manor first," said Harry, almost jumping with excitement. "Please, Sirius!"

"Of course, kiddo," Sirus said with a smile.

While he wasn't really looking forward to going to Potter Manor- thanks to the myriad of memories the Manor held for him- Sirius didn't want to deny Harry the opportunity to visit the house where generations of Potters had lived, and where Harry too, would probably live when he grew up. And after seeing Harry's excitement at visiting the Manor, Sirius didn't have the heart to deny his Godson his wish- especially because Sirius had realised that Harry had a very few demands, unlike most children his age. And this was the first time that Harry has expressed a desire for something.

"I want to see Potter Manor too! That's where you lived when you left your parents' house, didn't you? I bet it's bigger than Malfoy Manor! Right, Dad?" asked Acquila.

"Yes, sweetheart, you're right," Sirius replied distractedly.

"Sirius! Are you all right?" asked Nymphadora.

Andromeda and Ted had left for St. Mungos. And Dora - having nothing to do as she waited for her NEWT results- had decided to accompany the trio on their house-hunting expedition.

"I'm fine," said Sirius, as he pulled out an old, moth-eaten hand glove.

"Portus!" he uttered the incantation, waving his wand at it. "Come on, children," he said, smirking at Dora's frown on being called a child. "Hold on to the glove. We leave at the count of three-"

"One... Two... Three..."

A few seconds later, the four of them landed in right in front of Potter Manor.

Acquila and Harry managed to steady each other, but Nymphadora stumbled to the ground, grumbling as a laughing Sirius lent her a hand to help her stand up.

The grin on his face disappeared as he stared at the Manor. Potter Manor looked just as it had the last time Sirius had seen it. If he over-looked the unkempt lawn, Sirius would have imagined Dorea rushing out to greet him and smothering him with her motherly hugs and kisses.

"Wow!" exclaimed Harry, wide eyed. "It's amazing! I didn't know it was this big! This even puts Malfoy's Manor to shame! I can't believe I own this place!"

"What are you talking about, Harry?" asked Acquila in confusion. She looked at the place where Harry pointed, but could see nothing except a vast expanse of empty land.

"I can't see anything either!" said Dora. "The manor must have been warded to keep away trespassers."

"Oh! What do we do now?" Harry asked Sirius, but Sirius was still staring at the Manor, oblivious to their discussion.

"Sirius!" said Harry, tugging at sleeve of Sirius' robe.

"Yes? Sorry…I was lost in thoughts," Sirius muttered, finally realising that Harry had asked him something. "Let's go.'

"Dad! Dora and I can't see the Manor!" said Acquila, a tad exasperatedly.

"Oh yes! I'd forgotten about the wards. Only those who carry Potter blood in their veins can see the Manor, unless the Head of House decrees otherwise-"

"So that's how I can see it and they can't!" said Harry. "But how can you see it, Sirius? Do you carry Potter blood as well?" ha asked, wondering if the Blacks had a Potter ancestor.

"Mom and Dad…I mean Dorea and Charlus- your grandparents, considered me a second son. And since Dad was the Head of the House of Potter, he charmed the wards to recognise me as a part of the Potter family."

"So how do Acquila and I enter it, Sirius?" asked Nymphadora.

Sirius turned to Harry. "Since you are the Head of the House of Potter now, you have to order the wards to let Nymphie and Acquila in," he said.

"But…but how do I do that?"

"Your wand arm is your right one, isn't it?"

Harry nodded.

"Then place your right hand over the gate," said Sirius, grasping Harry's hand and placing it over the Potter crest on the ancient gate which led to the Manor.

"Oh!" gasped Harry as he felt a sudden surge of magic rushing through him. It was something he had never felt before- as if the very ground the Manor stood on, was rejoicing the return of the last of the Potters.

"Was that-"

"Yes, kiddo," cut in Sirius. "The Manor recognised you as the Head of House. Now order the Manor to let Nymphie and Acquila in."

"How do I do that?"

"Well, Harry. Just touch the Potter crest again and…and just order the wards to let them in," he said.

Harry put his hand on the gate again, and concentrated with all his might, on telling the Manor to allow Dora and Acquila in. A gasp of wonder from Acquila told him that he had indeed succeeded.

"It's amazing!" she exclaimed, staring at the Manor.

"It's wonderful! Mum told me that she had been here a couple of times for the Potters' New Year ball, when she was a kid. It seems just as beautiful as she had described it to me," said Nymphadora.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" exclaimed Harry, as he opened the gates and rushed in, closely followed by Acquila and Dora. Sirius followed them at a much slower pace, smiling at the trio, and hoping they would never lose their child-like innocence like he had.

He walked through the almost waist-length grass on the lawn. The garden which Lily had maintained after Dorea's death was in a bad shape and wild flowers grew haphazardly across it. The roses which James had planted for Lily's birthday had wilted away, and only the thorny stems of the rose shrubs remained. He even spotted a couple of garden gnomes. Dorea, who had tended to the garden every day till her death, would have been appalled on seeing the state of the flowerbeds and the fountain, which had dried up.

As Sirius entered the manor, he saw the kids looking at the interior of the living room in awe. It was simple, yet elegant. Nymphadora, who seemed to have improved on her household spells, was waving her wand at the golden and red sofa and then, at the armchair which Charlus had loved to sit on while he read the newspapers.

The chandelier below which James and Lily had danced the first time James had brought her home, still hung from the ceiling- though it was covered with cobwebs and dust.

Sirius then turned to look at the fireplace which was in existence since the 1600s, oblivious to Harry, Acquila and Nymphadora discussing something excitedly. Sirius remembered, that the living room seemed to come to life once the fireplace was lit, but that was years ago. Now the fireplace was covered with dust and decade-old ash and soot.

A sudden familiar voice attracted Sirius attention and he turned to see Harry talking to a portrait. It was Arsten Potter, James' paternal Grandfather.

"My my! It gladdens my heart to finally see someone setting foot in this house! It's been so long since I've seen a Potter here! You must be Harry," the old man in the Portrait said to the green-eyes boy.

"Yes... Yes, I _am_ Harry! How did you know?" asked Harry, who seemed to have realised that Arsten was his ancestor.

"How could I not know you, child? James' son, aren't you? I am your great-grandfather, Arsten Archibald Potter. You have the same messy hair that all Potters have, lad," winked the portrait. "And you look just like James did. And your eyes, they're like the red-haired lass's eyes! And besides, you lived here for a few months after your birth."

"I lived here?" gasped Harry in wonder.

"Of course! You lived here till James and Lily shifted to our ancestral property in Godric's hollow. Your nursery must be still the same- it's on the upper storey. Poor Wimsey kept it clean for as long as she lived, but she perished a few months after your parents died," the old Potter said sadly.

"We had a house-elf?" exclaimed Harry in amazement, remembering Draco Malfoy's house-elf whom he had met at the Ball. "What happened to her?"

"House elves' lives are bound to the House they serve. And with James passing away and you not stepping into the Manor, Wimsey perished due to the absence of a master to serve. And then, I was left all alone here," he sighed.

"Oh!" said Harry dejectedly, and then introduced Acquila and Dora to Arsten. After a few minutes of talk, Harry asked the portrait, "Can I visit my nursery?"

"You don't need to ask, son! You are the Head of House now. The nursery is up the stairs, on your right, just in front of the master bedroom," said Arsten Potter, winking at Acquila and Nymphadora as they followed Harry past the portrait.

"Come here, Sirius!" he called out to Sirius after the three had disappeared up the staircase. "I'm so glad to see you again! I kept thinking of the prank James and you had played on Christmas Eve, whenever I got too lonely," Arsten smiled at Sirius who smiled back widely in reply. "And I'm glad to see that you are out of Azkaban, lad."

"How do you know about that, Grandpa?" asked Sirius, knowing that the portrait had no way to keep up with the news after the house-elf had passed away.

"Wimsey was alive till 1983. She told me about James and Lily's deaths and of your Azkaban sentence. But I knew you would never betray James. You are as good as a grandson to me, lad. And I trust you. If I had been alive, I would have done something to ensure that you got justice. And since I saw you here, I knew you must have been acquitted," said the old man softly.

"It's alright, Grandpa," said Sirius, proceeding to tell the portrait all that had taken place.

After half an hour of talking to the portrait, Sirius sat on the sofa, after a quick scourgify to rid of the remainder of the dust.

"Shouldn't you check on the children, Sirius? It's been a while since they've been in the Nursery," said the portrait.

Sirius stiffened for a moment, remembering that the upper storey housed James' room along with the room in which Sirius had stayed.

"No…I…I don't really want to go up there, Grandpa…" replied Sirius, and the portrait kept silent after a nod of acknowledgement, realising that Sirius needed some time alone.

Sirius shut his eyes tightly, trying to take steady breaths and ignore the enormous void which seemed to have filled his heart. Perhaps, coming here had been a bad idea; a very, very bad idea. Jamie was gone…gone forever. And though it had been more than a decade since his death, it seemed to Sirius that the fact that James was no more was just sinking in.

They had been a family- all four of them- Charlus, Dorea, James and Sirius. He had been closer to them than he had ever been to his own parents. And now, Sirius was the only one left.

Charlus had passed away in an Auror mission, fighting Death-Eaters. And Sirius still remembered the day James and he had come to Potter Manor on getting Dorea's Patronus, only to see Dorea crying over Charlus' bloodied dead body. It was the first time that Sirius had witnessed the death of someone that close to him.

Dorea had passed away not long after Charlus; unable to live without the man she had loved for almost all of her life. And Sirius remembered Athena consoling him, as he tried his best to control his tears for the loss of the person who had been a true mother to him.

And then…Jamie had gone too.

Sirius sighed, as he moved his hand over the sofa, as memory after memory spent in the Manor came flooding to his mind. But one memory was much more vivid than the others. It felt like just yesterday that he had been lying on that very sofa in a bloodied heap, with a sobbing Dorea tending to his wounds.

_It was the summer after his fifth year at Hogwarts. And Sirius had just returned to Grimmauld Place from Kings' Cross Station. It was night, and Walburga's loud voice called Regulus and him for dinner._

_He came across Regulus on the staircase; grey eyes which were just like his own bored into his, but they contained no warmth, no hint of mischief like Sirius' eyes did. But they contained a strange darkness which threatened to overtake his fourteen-year old brother completely._

_"Did you like the Leaving feast prank this year, Reg?" Sirius asked his brother as they made their way to the dinning room. "It was the best one till date, wasn't it?" he asked, trying to make conversation with the brother whom he had once loved more than anyone else in the world._

_"Not really," answered Regulus indifferently._

_"Come on, Reg! It was raining flowers on the Gryffindor table! The girls loved it! And the snowfall on the Ravenclaw table? Even Flitwick said that he loved the charm which we used!" winked Sirius, but Regulus just glared at him._

_"The Hufflepuffs loved the every-flavoured beans which rained on their table," Sirius continued, "Peter suggested that…and the Slyth-"_

_"You made it rain on the Slytherin table! All of us were drenched to the bone! And you even ruined all the food!" snarled Regulus angrily._

_"We…we didn't mean to do that, Reg! We just did it so that we could try and wash out the grease from Snivellus' hair. But even water didn't help getting the grease off," Sirius chuckled, while Regulus sighed in annoyance._

_As they reached the table, Sirius noticed that his ever-angry mother seemed almost happy. Not that you would know from the permanent frown on her face, but she invited Sirius to sit next to her for dinner, which she hadn't done since he'd been sorted; which Sirius took as a sign of improvement in her perpetually bad mood. He took the seat next to her uneasily._

_"So, how did your school year go?" Walburga asked him. The beauty which had graced her features when he was younger had all but vanished._

_"It was good, Mother," Sirius replied, a bit bewildered and unsure about his mother's intentions. He shot a look at his father, but Orion Black preferred to concentrate on the food which Kreacher served onto his silver dish._

_"Sirius, I have some great news for you today; one which I am sure you won't refuse," said Walburga suddenly, with a smug grin._

_"And may I know what it is?" sighed Sirius, knowing that whatever it was, was definitely something which he wouldn't like._

_"You have been betrothed to Elia Yaxley-"_

_"WHAT!" exclaimed a shocked Sirius._

_"- a sweet little girl. And she's of very good lineage, the purest of blood-"_

_"You didn't even ask me about my opinion on this!" Sirus shouted, cutting off his mother's words. "I am not going to marry her. And she is a third-year Slytherin," he spat at her. "She's just thirteen!" he exclaimed, putting down his fork and knife._

_"No, Sirius. She is fourteen. She failed a year. And you _are_ marrying her!" Walburga replied in a tone which made it clear that she wasn't to be opposed. As she noticed Sirius' reaction, she added, "You don't need a woman who has brains, son. It is enough that she is a pure blood; her family is financially well-endowed. And she is of fertile stock. Her mother bore eight children including her. We'll have an heir in the cradle within a year."_

_"Are you insane?" Sirius shouted at her, "I am not marrying some dimwit! And what do you mean by 'an heir within a year'? Are you going to make me marry a girl of just fourteen when I am not even of age?" he roared as he got up from the table. _

_Regulus looked on, not knowing what to say, while his father continued eating as if nothing was amiss, just like he always did._

_"You are the Heir to the House of Black. It is your duty as my first-born to marry whosoever I tell you to!" snarled Walburga, her eyes blazing with anger. "And how dare you leave the table when your father and I are still seated? Where are your manners? Keeping company with the likes of that Potter boy seems to have addled your brain more than I thought it has!"_

_"Don't blame this on Jamie!" thundered Sirius, his eyes glinting just as angrily._

_"Don't you dare tell me what to do and what not to do, you traitorous fool! You ought to be grateful that the Yaxleys even agreed for the betrothal! I was afraid no one would want to marry their daughters to you, considering that you are as much a blood-traitor as those Potters are!"_

_"Oh please, Mother!" said Sirius. "That wretched girl has been trying to get into my pants since she first set eyes on me-"_

_"Don't use such language with me!" snarled Walburga, while Orion, who now seemed mildly interested, looked up at Sirius._

_"No one wants to marry me, Mother. It's just my name and money that they want! And I am not marrying someone I don't love and who doesn't love me in return-"_

_"Marriages are not made for love, Sirius! They are made for gold and alliances! That's what matters! Money! And the purity of blood! Not love!"_

_"It's my life! I am not going to marry that girl! And I love someone else!" Sirius replied defiantly._

_"Oh yes! The Blood-traitor McKinnon!" she snarled furiously, and then started laughing wildly at the startled look on Sirius' face._

_"Thought I wouldn't have known of it, my darling son?" she smirked evilly. "I know all about how you keep pining for that girl! I may not love you anymore, but I do keep track of your life! Athena McKinnon, isn't it? "_

_"Love me anymore? You never loved me! You're incapable of loving someone!" roared Sirius, banging his fist on the table. "Yes, it is Athena McKinnon!"_

_"That bitch!"_

_"Don't call her that!"_

_"The McKinnons are a family which settled in Britain just two centuries ago! We do not even know their background! They claim to be pure-bloods, but there's no proof of it! While our ancestry dates back to far long back in time! And her family advocates the rights of Mudbloods! I will not let the bloodline of my Noble family be sullied by a Blood-traitor!" screeched Walburga, her pitch becoming shriller with each word._

_"Don't insult her! I love her! And I am going to marry her! Only her! You cannot tell me what to do, woman!" Sirius screamed._

_"Is this how you talk to your mother? Have you learnt nothing from I have taught you? This is no way a pure-blood should behave! And you _will_ obey me! I will not have that blood-traitor in my house breeding filthy heirs to the House of Black! I have given you a free reign for too long! But you will obey me this time, Sirius! This is your last chance to prove that you are indeed a Black! Look at dear Bella! She has joined the Dark Lord in his noble cause and already risen in his ranks-"_

_"I am not going to serve Voldemort-"_

_"Don't utter his name! Even Bella doesn't-"_

_"And I am not going to marry the Yaxley girl! I am going to marry Athena, whether you like it or not! You can't control me!" he shouted, standing his ground as Walburga made to grab hold of his wrist._

_"Don't you dare defy me! I will disown you! I am warning you! I have fixed your engagement for the day after tomorrow and you better get your head out of this McKinnon nonsense!" Warburga screamed, her nostrils flaring, looking rather like a dragon which was about to breathe out fire._

_"Fine then! Disown me! There is no way I am living in this hell-hole!" said Sirius as he stomped towards the stairs._

_"Come back here, boy!" screeched Walburga, trying to follow him, but Sirius' anger had led to him casting a wandless shield which prevented her from coming up the stairs._

_He opened his still-unpacked school trunk and started throwing in his collection of Chocolate Frog cards, clothes, and a few other knick-knacks. After a frenzied look around to make sure that he had taken all he needed, he shrunk the trunk, put it in his pocket and went to the dining room again; thanking his stars that the Ministry couldn't arrest him for under-age magic in any properties belonging to the Blacks._

_As he vanished the shield he had put up, he came face-to-face with a furious Walburga._

_"Don't you dare leave, Sirius! I am warning you!" she said, but the resolve in his eyes told her that he would never listen to her._

_Her spell hit him without any warning, and he crumpled to the floor in pain, clutching at his ribs as he cursed himself for not being alert. She had cursed him with the rib-breaking spell, and he knew that he had broken at least a couple of his ribs._

_"Protego!" he put up a shield charm, gritting his teeth as he felt the enormous urge to scream in pain._

_But the shield didn't hold up for long, and vanished as Walburga's spell broke through it, hitting him right on his head. _

_It was the bludgeoning spell, and he felt the blood trickle down his face, as his head felt like it had broken into two._

_He raised his wand at her, for the very first time in his life. _

_"Expelliarmus," he gasped, each breath he took sending a fresh spasm of pain in his chest._

_But Walburga deflected it with a wave of her wand._

_"You dare raise your wand against me? You are such a disgrace to our family!" she screeched, looking very much like a mad woman, as the hair she had tied up in a bun had come loose, falling over her face._

_"I am not part of your bloody family! I… I hate you…" he gasped, while he glared momentarily at his father- who stood silently beside his wife- neither helping her, nor defending his son._

_"Sectumsempra!" she screeched, the curse hitting Sirius on his arm, cutting through the cloth of his robes. Blood started flowing down his arm in torrents._

_"Mother-" he heard Regulus' anguished voice._

_"Oh yes, Reg! Why don't you have a go at him? Show him what happens to those who defy the House of my ancestors!" she goaded him._

_Sirius raised his wand at his brother, knowing he couldn't hold out any longer, as his head, chest and arm throbbed with unbearable pain. _

_"Curse him, Regulus!" said his mother's voice, and a visibly shivering Regulus pointed his wand at Sirius._

_"S…Sectumsempra!" he said, but the spell brushed past within a centimeter of Sirius' other arm, as Sirius shield charm failed to hold up. Sirius stared wide-eyed at his brother. Regulus Black had the best aim of anyone Sirius knew. Though he played Seeker for the Slytherin team, he used to play as a Chaser in their childhood Quidditch games, and he had never once missed hitting the Quaffle into the loop. He knew that Regulus had deliberately mis-cast the curse so that it wouldn't hit him. Reg wasn't yet lost to the Dark side._

_"Come with me, Reg…" he gasped between breaths, his wand held limply at his side, knowing he didn't have the energy to defend himself any longer. His vision clouded with black dots, and he knew he would lose consciousness soon. He needed to get out of there before he fainted, or worse died, as he didn't know how deeply his ribs had been damaged._

_"Please…come with me…you aren't like them…not yet…" he sputtered, ignoring Walburga's shriek of fury._

_For a miniscule moment, Regulus' eyes looked like they had when he was just Sirius' little brother and not the boy on whom the hopes of the entire Black family rested. And Sirius thought that Regulus would agree. _

_"Please Reggie…" he pleaded, using the name Sirius used for him when they were children, "The Potters will take you in…they'll love you like they love me…we can have a real family…"_

_But that had probably been the wrong thing to say as the next moment, the coldness entered Regulus' eyes again._

_"I won't betray my family, Siri…If…if you leave, you are no more my brother…" Regulus replied, as Walburga cackled with delight. "And anyway, Potter seems to have taken my place as your brother…you don't need me anymore…you have him…" he said with the tiniest sense of hurt and jealousy in his tone._

_"Reg..." started Sirius, but Walburga cut him off, cursing him so that a gash appeared on his left cheek, the blood mingling with the one flowing down from his head. He knew he wouldn't hold for much longer._

_"Not one more word!" screamed Walburga, pointing her wand at him again. "You will not defy me! I'll kill you rather than let you disgrace my family! Go back to your room and stay there till the engagement! You will not leave! You'll be burnt off the family tree and cut off from the fortune like your beloved Andromeda. I knew I shouldn't have let you spend too much time with her. She's filled your head with filth-"_

_"Stupefy!" Sirius aimed his wand at her in a sudden movement which sent waves of pain through his injured arm, and Walburga fell down to the ground in a thud. The spell seemed to have taken whatever was left of his strength._

_Sirius finally stood up gingerly, knowing that his father and brother wouldn't attack him. A wave of darkness took over his vision and he wanted nothing better than to fall down to the floor and never wake up. His head seemed to scream in pain, and each breath sent a fresh wave of pain through his broken ribs. But he couldn't stay there anymore, or he was sure Walburga would kill him. He knew not whether the 'stupefy' had been strong enough to have knocked her off for more than a few minutes._

_"Promise me, Reg…you will not take the Dark Mark…promise me…" he gasped, but fell down to the floor screaming in pain._

_Walburga had woken up and cast the Cruciatus Curse on him. He brought up his Occlumency shields and tried to push aside the pain, till Walburga put a stop to the curse._

_"How dare you stupefy me! I wish you had never been born! You sullied my womb with your very existence within me…I am going to kill you! You're better off dead than living and being a blot on our name…" he ignored Walburga's shrieks as he shut his eyes._

_He was going to die. He knew he was going to die. _

_And then, James face appeared before him._

_'Get up, Padfoot! Get up! You can't die!' Jamie urged him._

_'Come on, Siri!' said Athena's voice._

_And Sirius stood up with the greatest effort that had ever cost him. He couldn't die! Not like this! Not at the hands of his crazy mother with only his father and brother as witnesses, crumpled to a heap on the floor. If he had to die, he would go off in a blaze of glory, taking down at least five Death-Eaters with him. Or he would die protecting his loved ones. He would die as an Auror! Not as a fifteen-year old, weak to even stand up with his head held high._

_"Imperio!" came Walburga's voice from behind him._

_'Lie down! You are going nowhere! You will marry Elia Yaxley!" came the voice. And he wanted to obey it, wanting nothing better than to do as it said. _

_But then, there came another voice._

_'It's the Imperius, Sirius! Don't listen to her! Please!' said James' voice._

_'Come on, Siri!' Andromeda's voice sounded as if it was coming from far away._

_'Stand up, Padfoot!' Remus urged him._

_"Aaargh!" yelled Sirius, as he threw of the curse. He felt a sudden energy surging through his limbs, a rush of adrenaline._

_"Petrifiucus Totalus!" he screamed and Walburga fell motionless to the ground._

_He wouldn't stay there anymore._

_"Please…please remember what I said, Reggie," he gasped as he stood up and stumbled to the door, every part of his body aching. He wondered whether the bludgeoning spell had cracked his skull into two, as his head seemed to burn with the most agonising pain he had ever felt. _

_"Thanks for all…all the support, Father," he said sarcastically to his father, before he took one last look at Regulus and stumbled through the door onto the Muggle street, where the Muggles stared at his bloodied form in horror._

_"What happened to you, son?" an elderly man came towards him._

_"I'm okay…I'm alright…" he said, knowing he was on the very edge of consciousness._

_How could he go to Potter Manor? The Knight Bus perhaps? But he didn't have time to call for it. He didn't have the strength to wait for it. He knew he had no more than a minute before he fainted._

_He could hear the people around him murmuring in horror, and someone shouting for what sounded like 'ambulans'._

_Potter Manor. He had to get to Potter Manor. _

_A moment later, he felt himself being squeezed into a tube and he landed with a thud on what felt like a lawn. He tried to get up, but a searing pain shot through his leg. As he looked down at the paining limb, he screamed in shock. _

_"Nooooooooo!"_

_He had splinched his leg! It had been severed from knee-down, with the ankle with his foot attached to it lying a few inches away from the rest of his leg._

_"SIRIUS!" he heard James' frightened scream, and the last he saw before he passed into unconsciousness, were James' moist hazel eyes behind his spectacles._

_When Sirius woke up, he was lying on the sofa of the Potters' living room and James head was looming over him._

_"Oh, Sirius," Dorea Potter sobbed from next to him, while he could hear James crying quietly from the foot of the sofa. Sirius gaped at him in surprise. James Potter never cried._

_"I thought…I thought you would die, Padfoot…" said James softly, as Sirius tried to speak, but found himself to weak to do so._

_"Give the essence of dittany here, Wimsey," he heard Dorea Potter call out to the House-elf in a choked voice._

_"This will sting a bit, dear, try not to move," she said, and Sirius braced himself for the stinging pain which ran through his leg a moment later._

_"Jamie-" _

_"Try not to talk, child,' said Dorea as his chest burnt with pain. "I haven't repaired your ribs yet…I was scared…if I did something wrong, you could…I just hope nothing's wrong with your lungs…the Healer will come soon…" said Dorea softly, as Sirius fainted again._

_Sirius woke up an entire day later to Charlus Potter's angry voice._

_"How can she do this to her own son? The Rib-breaking curse, the Crutiatus, Sectumsempra, the Blugdeoning Curse…and Merlin knows what else. I'm going to report this to the Ministry! She will not get away with this! Oh, Sirius…you're awake…" Charlus stopped in the middle of his rant as he noticed that Sirius staring at him._

_"Oh darling! How are you? The healers had said that they should wake up today…I thought we should have shifted you to St. Mungos, but they said shifting you might harm you further…are you still in pain, child-" said Dorea._

_"Mum! Let him breathe!" put in James._

_"Hi, Jamie," said Sirius, his voice rasped. "Please don't alert the Ministry, Sir," he said to Charlus. He hadn't taken to calling him 'dad' till much later that summer._

_"But…she could have killed you…"_

_"I know…but she'll pay her way out of it…and I don't want this to get into the newspapers…I want to become an Auror…and I don't want people to know that I couldn't even defend myself against my own mother…" he trailed off._

_"It's much easier to defend ourselves against our enemies than our loved ones, son."_

_"I don't love her," said Sirius indignantly._

_"Okay, but we can't let her get away with this. You would have been killed if you had come here a minute later-" started Charlus, but Dorea cut him off._

_"Charlus," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He's right. There is no point. I know how the Blacks are. I was one of them myself. Just let it go," she sighed and in the next hour, Sirius launched into a reluctant explanation of what had taken place in Grimmauld Place, with Dorea bursting into tears again mid-way through the narration, while James' face contorted with a strange mix of grief and rage._

_Later that night, as he settled into the room which would now be his own, Sirius tried to sleep, but to no avail. Scenes from the previous night came flooding to his mind, including thoughts of his brother._

_"You haven't slept, dear?" asked Dorea, and Sirius sighed as he realised that he hadn't even been alert enough to notice that she had entered the room._

_"No... I can't... I keep thinking about what happened…" replied Sirius._

_"It'll pass soon, dear. You'll forget these thoughts. And everything is alright now. You are safe, darling," she said, caressing the hand on his uninjured arm._

_"Will you thank Mr. Potter for me?" he asked her._

_"For what, dear?"_

_"For handling the Ministry," he replied. The Muggles who had seen Sirius disapparating had had to have their memories wiped off, and Sirius would have been summoned to the Ministry for violating the Statute of Secrecy if Charlus hadn't hushed up the matter through his contacts within the Ministry._

_"Oh come on, child! There's no need of thanking him for that! You're as much as a son to him as Jamie is…he wouldn't even mind you calling him 'Dad', you know…and he told me he thinks that you'll be a great Auror. Very few people would have been able to cast spells when they were injured as badly as you are, darling," she said, as she changed the bandages wrapped around his head with a wave of her wand_

_"I…I will leave as soon as I am healthy, Aunt Dorea..." said Sirius suddenly, "I'll rent a place and take up a summer job during the vacation. I don't want to burden you..."_

_"Nonsense, dear! You are staying _here_! You think I'll leave you on your own? You aren't a burden at all, child. You are as much a son to me as James is! You even write more letters to me from school than he does! You are a part of the family, Sirius!"_

"Sirius!"

"Sirius!"

"Dad!"

"Huh?" Sirius broke out of his thoughts. "What happened?" he said as he felt Nymphadora's hand on his shoulder.

"We called you so many times, Siri! Are you all right?" Dora asked him anxiously.

"Yes! I'm fine," Sirius lied, but Dora didn't seem convinced.

"I want to stay here, Sirius! This place is wonderful," exclaimed Harry, truly elated. "I found all these photos of me from when I was just a newnborn! There are so many of the photographs! And there was a stuffed stag and a stuffed wolf and a stuffed dog," he said, leaving out the stuffed rat, knowing that it stood for Peter, though he wondered whether the stuffed wolf had something to do with Remus. "And there is a Quidditch pitch too in the backyard!" he exclaimed oblivious to Sirius' reaction.

"Yes, Dad! I don't mind staying here too!" Acquila seemed as excited as Harry.

"Sure," Sirius sighed softly. "If you want to, then we'll stay here," he smiled rather weakly, not wanting to say no to their wishes.

"Come on! Let's see the kitchen! We haven't seen it as yet," said Dora, a little bit too loudly. Harry and Acquila gave each other a questioning glance, wondering why Dora wanted to visit the kitchen, but they followed her, nevertheless.

As soon as they entered the kitchen out if the earshot of Sirius, Dora turned to the kids.

"Please don't stay here," she said softly.

"Why not?" Harry asked her, his brow furrowed.

"The manor is good! It just needs a bit of dusting and cleaning," put in Acquila.

"Look, Siri was very close to your dad as well as your grandparents. And this place holds a lot of memories. And he has spent a decade with the Dementors…you know my dad's a mind-healer, don't you? Dad hadn't even wanted Sirius to come here because he knew that Siri would be assailed by all the memories…memories of your dad, Harry. Staying here is going to remind him daily of those whom he has lost forever…don't put him through that…"

"I…I never thought of that…" said Acquila softly, wondering how she hadn't even realised her father's distress.

"I don't want to live here," said Harry, a guilty look on his face.

"So, just tell him that you'll think over it…don't say an outright no, because you just said you want to live here. And if you say no all of a sudden, he'll know something's amiss," said Nymphadora and the two children nodded in agreement, as they departed the kitchen.

"So Potter Manor's final, right? We won't need to visit the other houses then," said Sirius, as they entered.

"Actually…how about we visit the other places and then decide where to live?" said Harry.

"Yes, Dad! Maybe they are better than this one," Acquila put in.

Sirius smiled at them, before looking at Harry.

"Look, I knew your grandparents very well. And well, you're the last Potter left…they would have wanted you to stay here-"

"No, Sirius. I'll think of living here when I grow up…but now, why don't we say goodbye to the portrait of my great-grandfather and then leave for the other houses?" said Harry determinedly and Sirius nodded at him, a tad gratefully.

"Then on to our next stop then! Cepheus' Castle!" said Sirius. "But before that, how about a quick game of Quidditch on Jamie's brooms?" he continued, glad to see a wide smile break out on his Godson's face as Harry nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

**xxx**

"Holy Helga! This castle is almost as big as Hogwarts!" exclaimed Nymphadora, as they landed onto the ground in front of Cepheus' Castle an hour later. They had played a two-a-side game of Quidditch at Potter Manor, with Harry and Sirius beating Nymphadora and Acquila by twenty points.

"Doesn't the Castle have wards like Potter Manor? I can see it though I'm not a Black," said Harry and then continued before Sirius could reply, "It's because I have Black blood in me, isn't it- through my Grandmother Dorea?"

"Yes, kiddo," smiled Sirius as they made their way to the portcullis at the castle gate.

"Oh my! I can't believe we own this big a Castle!" said Acquila in awe.

The castle was made of black stone and it was surrounded by a thick wall also made of the same black stone, with arrow slits at intervals.

"Is this a Muggle castle?" asked Acquila.

"Yes, it is. But how did you know?" asked Sirius.

"There are arrow slits all around the wall. If it was a castle built by wizards, it wouldn't have had the arrow slits," replied Acquila as Sirius looked at her proudly.

"That's smart thinking, love; I'm glad you've inherited your mother's Ravenclaw nature," smiled Sirius as a momentary flicker of grief flitted through his eyes.

They reached the portcullis and Sirius tapped his wand on it in a pattern and the rusted portcullis rose making a screeching sound, allowing them to enter. There was a long walk to the castle from the gate.

The Castle seemed to have once harboured a lot of people, but it seemed like no one had visited the place for years. The Castle was covered with moss all over and creepers were growing through the crevices in the stones. There were tall octagonal towers at each end of the Castle.

"This Castle was taken by our ancestor Cepheus Black in the sixteenth century. It had been built by the Muggle King who ruled England. Cepheus Imperioused the King and made him hand over the Castle to the Blacks. It's said that Cepheus came across the Castle while he had come Muggle-hunting; and he felt that a Muggle, even if he was a King had no right to own such a magnificent palace when there was nothing of such magnificence in the Wizarding world. And he felt that the Castle was _worthy_ of being owned by the Most Noble House of Black," snorted Sirius.

"I don't know what Cepheus did with all the Kings' people who served here, and frankly, it's better we don't know," he said as Acquila shuddered involuntarily. Muggle-hunting? What kind of insane family had she been born into? She knew that the Blacks considered Muggles and Muggle-borns as beneath them, but to hunt Muggles and steal a Palace from a King? It was just too much, even for the deranged Blacks.

"Did nobody stay here?" asked Harry, noticing that the Castle didn't look as if it had been inhabited much.

"No. The Blacks never stayed here. It was just another means of flaunting the Black wealth-"

"Black wealth! But Cepheus didn't even build it himself! He stole it from the King!" exclaimed Acquila angrily.

"I know, dear. But that's how our ancestors were," he sighed, before continuing, "The Castle was too huge to maintain. The Blacks did reside here for a few days, before they realised that the Castle would take an army of house-elves to maintain. So they shifted to the other Black residences with one branch of the Blacks living at Grimmauld Place, and the other branches at the other Manors. This castle was only used for parties and balls. The last ball that was held here was when I was eight. The New Years' Eve Ball," said Sirius as they finally reached the main door that led to the Castle.

"Aaaargh!" Acquila let out a sudden shriek of fright as hundreds of bats flew out of the door of the Castle as Sirius pulled it open.

A quick spell to rid the Castle of the bats, they entered into the huge hall.

It easily rivaled the Great Hall at Hogwarts. It could have easily seated more than a thousand men.

As they walked further into the Castle, they came into a room with a high ceiling on which hung the most ornate chandeliers that Acquila had ever seen.

There was a huge throne on a dais. It seemed to be made of pure gold, and on the armrests were carved two snakes. Their eyes were studded with rubies, and the throne itself was studded with green emeralds and sapphires. Acquila thought that the throne seemed rather Slytherin.

"The throne is exquisite!" exclaimed Dora.

"And also quite uncomfortable," put in Sirius as Dora sat onto it, changing her features to look rather King-like.

As Acquila and Harry started giving Dora suggestions to improve her appearance even further, she stood up suddenly.

"Merlin me! The snakes! Did their eyes actually move, or did I imagine it…" she gasped.

"They did move. Grandfather Pollux charmed them to appear life-like," replied Sirius, as Harry moved closer to the throne, observing the snakes intently.

"What's the matter, Harry?" asked Sirius, as Harry stared intently at the snakes. Why did they seem so familiar; why did they seem to be saying something to him? He remembered the day he had spoken to the Boa Constrictor in the Zoo.

"Sirius-" he started, about to tell Sirius about it, but an exclamation of surprise from Acquila had him rushing off to where Acquila's voice came from, and the snakes were forgotten.

"Look! My name's on this tapestry!" exclaimed Acquila.

"Oh yes," said Sirius rather bitterly. "The original Black Family Tapestry. It shows the entire family tree right from the middle ages," he said, as the four of them stood staring at the tapestry, their eyes brightening when they fell over a familiar name. The tapestry towered up to the ceiling. It was twenty feet high. And they could only read the names on the lower part of the tapestry.

"I'm not on it," said Dora off-handedly.

"Yes, since you're a half-blood," sighed Sirius. "It only shows Pure-bloods. My crazy mum burnt me off the tapestry at Grimmauld Place, but she couldn't burn me off this one, since I'm a pure-blood; and since only the Head of House can alter the names on the tapestry. Even Athena and Acquila are in here, though they won't be on the one at Grimmauld. Oh yes! Marius Black," he said, pointing at a name on the tapestry.

"He was a squib and my mother burnt him off the Grimmauld tapestry, but he's still on this one," he continued as Dora told Harry and Acquila the meaning of 'squib'.

But Sirius seemed to be lost in his own world.

"Isla Black," he muttered, "She's here as well, even though she married a Muggle. And Uncle Alphard…he was the one who took me to Andy's wedding…and then left me all his wealth…if Athena and I had a second son, I wanted to name him after Uncle Alphard…the first one would have been Cepheus Charlus Black..." he trailed off as Acquila and Harry seemed unsure of how to respond to that.

"I think we are related to Neville as well!" said Harry suddenly, pointing to Harfang Longbottom, who had married Callidora Black; and Acquila was glad for the change of topic.

"All Pure-bloods are related to each other," said Nymphadora.

As the trio discussed the names on the tapestry, Sirius felt himself slipping into another memory.

It was the last the last New Years' ball that had been held at the Castle. He was just eight years-old while Regulus was seven. Sirius had been leaning on one of these stone walls, and as he rested his back against a particular stone on the wall, the entire portion of the wall had moved away revealing a secret passage. He remembered going down the staircase within the passage with Regulus. They had followed the staircase for more than an hour, oblivious to the other members of the family who had been searching for the two male Black heirs. It had been grandfather Arcturus who had finally found them and dragged the reluctant boys out of the passage.

"Siri! Where are all the rooms?" Dora's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"They are in the towers. The one on the right is the King's tower, where the King stayed with his guards and pageboys. While the one on the left is the Queen's tower, where the Queen stayed with her ladies-in-waiting," explained Sirius, remembering that it had been Uncle Alphard who had told him all about the Castle's history and its architecture. Walburga and Orion had refused to tell him about the Castle's rooms, saying that a Black had no need to know how the Muggles lived.

"The king and queen had different rooms? That's strange!" said Acquila innocently. "I thought married people live in the same room, like Dora's parents do-"

"They do…But the King was a busy man. And he shared the Queen's quarters only when-Umm…how do I put this…" muttered Sirius as Dora started sniggering, while the kids looked on in confusion.

"I wonder what you are going to do when you need to give Harry the 'growing up' talk," she winked as Sirius groaned and then glared at Dora.

"The tower behind the castle on the right was for the King's council members, while the one next to that was for royal visitors of other nations," said Sirius, changing the topic as Harry seemed to want to ask him about the 'growing up' talk.

"Can we go and see the towers?" asked Acquila.

"I'm afraid not. No one's visited them in decades. We'll get a few house-elves to clean up the towers and maybe then we can visit them," he replied.

"I don't think we should stay here, Dad. It's too huge! And I don't the fact that he stole it from a Muggle," said Acquila.

"I thought you'd say so. We can come here for parties and picnics," he smiled.

"Yes! That'll be fun! We'll call Hermione, Ron, Neville and even Draco," Acquila said excitedly as both Sirius and Harry made a face on hearing Draco's name. "I'm sure Hermione will love exploring the Castle with me!" Acquila continued.

"As you wish, love," said Sirius. "Now do we go on to the next Manor? It's the one we inherited from the Gamps," said Sirius as they held on to the Portkey and disappeared.

**xxx**

"So, how did the house-hunting go, Sirius?" asked Andromeda that night as he sat sipping Muggle coffee with her and Ted. Harry, Acquila and Nymphadora had already retired for the night, and Sirius had decided to spend the night curled up outside Acquila's room in his dog form again, in case she got more nightmares.

"All the houses were so dusty! And the Gamp Manor! The cupboards were full of Boggarts! I had to drag the kids out of there…" he trailed off, wondering what his own Boggart would have turned into.

"And the one in Yorkshire?" asked Ted.

"There was an old ghost there…refused to even let us enter…he kept on walking through us…creepy fellow," snorted Sirius. "And even creepier were the house-elf heads stuck to the wall! Gave the kids a fright…who was it who started the tradition…Meliflua, wasn't it?" he said as Andromeda nodded.

"Reminded me of Grimmauld Place," Sirius continued, a sudden shadow of darkness flitting through his eyes at the thought of his dark childhood home.

"And how was Potter Manor?" asked Ted cautiously.

"I'd…I'd rather not talk of it…" muttered Sirius, not wanting to remember that he was the only one left out of Dorea, Charlus and James.

"I'm thinking of visiting Aunt Cassiopeia tomorrow," he continued, not noticing the worried glance exchanged by Ted and Andromeda at his reaction to the mention of Potter Manor.

"Oh yes. She will be glad to see the kids. Harry told me that she seemed fond of them when they met her at the Malfoy's ball," said Andromeda.

"I can't say I'm looking forward to meeting her. I don't even remember much about her…I didn't meet her after I left Grimmauld," said Sirius as he yawned.

"Why don't you go to sleep, Siri? You've had a long day. And you're sleeping in your own room tonight. I'll stay with Acquila…in case she gets a nightmare-"

"No, Andy," Sirius cut her off. "I'll take care of her-"

"But you need to sleep, Sirius…in your human form, not as a dog," put in Ted.

"No, Ted…I prefer it this way…helps me stay away from dreams of Dementors and Lily and James' corpses…" Sirius mumbled before bidding them both goodnight and walking away.

"I worry about him, Teddy," said Andromeda softly.

"I do too, Droma," replied Ted. "But just give him some time…it's a lot to take in…especially someone who has spent a decade with Dementors," he said as he pulled Andromeda into a hug, resolving to talk to Sirius in his capacity as a mind-healer soon.

**xxx**

_A few hours ago_

Narcissa looked affectionately at her son, who sat beside her engrossed on the parchment on which he was sketching something. The sound of the scratching of the quill on the parchment permeated through the silence along with the frequent sound of Draco dipping the quill in the ornate ink pot.

Painting and drawing was something Draco loved to do; but only when Lucius wasn't around. A couple of years ago, Narcissa had recognised Draco's artistic skills. Even for a ten year-old, his skills with the quill were quite profound. But Lucius had forbidden Draco from wasting time in something like drawing- which wasn't befitting for a Malfoy heir. And so, the only time Draco would draw and sketch, was when Lucius wasn't home. It was a secret between her and her son; and it was the only thing- apart from having visited Sirius the previous day- that Narcissa had hidden from her husband.

As Draco sighed in annoyance at having to dip the quill in the inkpot repeatedly, Narcissa wished she could get Draco the long wooden things that Muggles used to sketch.

Andromeda had brought it home one summer- the Muggles called it something that sounded like 'pensil'. And it was only later that Narcissa had known that it was Ted- who had worked part-time as an artist for the comic book 'The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle'- had given it to Andromeda.

Though Wizards did have self-inking quills, Narcissa felt that a 'pensil' would probably have aided Draco much better in his drawing.

"Mother, look!" Draco's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"It's beautiful, Draco," she exclaimed, as she took the parchment in her hands, careful not to touch the ink which was on the verge of drying. It was a sketch of Acquila- Acquila on the day of the ball as she walked down the stairs. It wasn't an exact likeness of the girl; Narcissa knew that Acquila's eyes weren't as huge as Draco had drawn, and her jaw wasn't as rounded. But it was a pretty sketch, nevertheless.

"I made it for her. When...if I meet her in the vacations," he mumbled. "You think she'll like it?"

"Of course, she will, dear," she replied, pulling her son into a hug- to which he responded happily. Lucius had always discouraged Narcissa from hugging Draco, as he had wanted him to grow up to become a ruthless and firm man who would be unaffected by emotions. And the occasions when she would get a chance to hug him were few and far between.

A sudden squeak of "Mistress! Master has come!" from the house-elf, led to Narcissa quickly letting go of Draco and handing over the parchment to the house-elf for safekeeping.

"Narcissa!" Lucius' angry voice echoed through the room, followed at Lucius himself.

Narcissa stood up and flinched involuntarily on seeing the anger etched on her husband's face. And as she realised the reason for his anger, she whispered to her son.

"Draco, leave!"

"But, mother-"

"Draco, please-"

But before she could even complete her sentence, Lucius' hand had clamped over her wrist tightly, and she winced in pain. Before she could even react, Lucius had turned around so that her back was pressed against his chest. He pressed the tip of his wand tightly against her neck, almost boring into her skin; while he twisted her arm behind her back, his nails boring into her wrist, which he had still grasped tightly.

"Do you think I am a fool, Narcissa _Black_?" he snarled, his hot breath which fell on her neck making her heart shudder with fear. But she swept aside the urge to scream out in pain, and to tell him to slacken his grip on her wrist.

"Draco…please go," she said to him in an almost-pleading tone, noticing his grey eyes wide with fear. But Draco stood rooted to the spot, while Lucius seemed to have not even heard her words, or realised that Draco was standing in the same room as him.

"Do you take me for a fool? You think I wouldn't know that did not go to visit your mother's grave, but you went to meet Black?" he roared at her, the sparks emitting from the tip of his wand scorched her neck , but she stood irresolutely, biting back the scream of pain which threatened to tear out of her mouth.

She stared at Draco, soundlessly begging him to leave. Draco had never witnessed violence of any sort, especially not between his own parents. And Narcissa hoped with all her heart that the cowardly Malfoy within Draco would take over and he would go running to his room. Though she would never admit it, she knew that Draco had inherited none of the Black courage. The Blacks may have been insane and violent, but no one could deny that they were courageous. Whether it was Andromeda who had the courage to defy her own family and run away, or Sirius- who faced the Dark Lord four times fearlessly, or Regulus who had displayed Gryffindor-like courage in defying the Dark Lord, knowing that he would get killed for it. But Draco, despite being half a Black, was a rather cowardly boy, preferring to save his own skin than that of another- much like Lucius himself.

But the gut-wrenching cry of 'Mother' which came from Draco, dashed all of Narcissa's hopes.

"Let her go…please, Father…let her go…" she heard Draco's pleading with her husband in a choked voice, as the boy clung on to the skirt of her robes, holding on to her legs tightly.

Lucius, who seemed to have noticed his son; loosened the hold on his wand on her neck, and said to Draco in a terrifying tone, "Leave, Draco," he snarled.

"Please, Father…let Mother go…please-"

"Malfoys do not plead and beg, you foolish boy!" thundered Lucius, pointing his wand at his son now, while his grip on Narcissa's wrist tightened as he twisted her arm even further and this time, she couldn't control the cry of pain which escaped her mouth.

"Mother!" said Draco on hearing her cry out in pain.

"Leave before I curse you!" shouted Lucius, and Draco after a last terrified look at his Mother, burst into tears and ran up the staircase.

"Now, now, Narcissa," sneered Lucius and he let go of her wrist and pushed her onto the sofa, his wand pointing right into her face.

"You think I wouldn't know that you lied to me?" he shouted, his silver eyes blazing with rage. He was angrier than Narcissa had ever seen him, and she stopped herself from cowering back in fear with an enormous effort.

"Did you tell Black of the report about Potter?" he spat at her.

She took a deep breath, and then looked straight into his eyes; knowing that it would infuriate him even further, but inwardly knowing that he would never dare curse a Daughter of the House of Black.

"Yes," she replied.

"You traitor! You dare defy your own husband! Who gave you permission to go and meet Black? How dare you work against me?" he roared, a vein throbbing madly in his pale forehead.

"What I did was for the good of our family-"she started.

But he cut her off: "Don't you lie to me, Narcissa! Don't you lie to me! We had nothing to gain from the report not being published! You've ruined all my plans! You had no right to go and meet Black behind my back! You had no right to lie to me! I thought you were missing your mother, so I allowed you to visit her grave! And what do I find when I meet Evan in the Ministry? He told me that you haven't visited the Rosier cemetery since a year! And Fudge told me that Black threatened not to publish the report! You think I am a fool? You think I wouldn't put two and two together and realise that you betrayed me? My own wife betrayed me to side with Sirius Black!" he thundered, moving even closer to her, as she involuntarily moved even backward into the cushions of the sofa; her wrist, arm and neck still throbbing with pain.

Narcissa berated herself mentally. She had thought that Evan was out of the country. Druella, despite wanting to be buried next to her husband, had been buried in the Rosier Cemetery as only those who had been born into the Black family, and those wives who had provided the family with a male heir- were allowed to be buried in the Black Cemetery. Narcissa had thought that since Evan Rosier- a first cousin to both Narcissa and Lucius, and the Head of the House of Rosier- was out of town, he wouldn't know whether she had indeed visited the Cemetery or not.

"And you know what, Narcissa? I trusted you so truly, that I told Evan that he was mistaken. He told me that nobody had entered the Cemetery since a month. But I told him that he was mistaken, that you wouldn't lie to me. But I was the one who put my faith in a back-stabbing wife like you! What have I not done for you, Cissy? I gave you a bloody son…I gave you everything that you wanted…and despite fulfilling every effing wish of yours, you divulge my plans to the enemy?" he roared, and for a moment, Narcissa thought he was going to slap her. But he curled his hand into a fist, while he threw the wand which he held in his other hand onto the table.

"I do not wish to discuss this any further, Narcissa," he said in a furious voice. "This is the first and the last chance I am giving you," his voice suddenly took on a cold tone. "And I am warning you- if you go against my wishes again, I will see to it that you are thrown out of the Manor. And Draco will remain with me. You will not get to meet him ever again," he sneered at her.

"No, Lucius, please…not Draco…" the plea was out of her mouth before she could even realise what she had said.

A cold shiver ran through her as she thought of Lucius taking her only child away from her forever.

And she knew that he _could _do what he had threatened. Lucius Malfoy never forgot and never forgave. And the archaic Wizarding Laws always gave preference to the father than the mother, when it came to custody of a male heir. Lucius could very well act on his threat of keeping Draco away from her.

"I can explain why I did it, Lucius…I didn't want Sirius to turn against us…I want to ensure Acquila and Draco's betrothal as much as you-"

"Don't you dare presume what I want! I had thought that we had both grown to love and care for each other in the past few years. But you have proved me completely wrong. Just stay away from me for a few days. And you will shift to the West Wing of the Manor. I see no need to share a bed with a woman who is my wife only in name, and not in loyalty," he snapped at her, as she held back the tears which threatened to slide down her eyes.

She couldn't cry. She was a Black. And Blacks never cried.

Lucius glared at her one last time and then walked towards the room which now belonged to him alone.

"And needless to say, Narcissa," he said coldly, turning behind to look at her. "One wrong move from you; and Draco won't remain your son anymore."

Narcissa said nothing, not even bothering to nod in acknowledgement. After spending so many years with Lucius, she knew that he wouldn't think twice before putting his threat into action.

An hour later, as she slowly crept into her bed, cradling her aching wrist in her hand, she wondered if she had done the right thing by going behind Lucius' back to inform Sirius of Lucius' plan. What if Lucius got further enraged and took Draco away from her forever? Would Sirius help her reclaim her son out of brotherly love? Had it even been worth it? Worth losing her husband's trust and his love? Of course, she knew that Lucius didn't love her as a lover should, but he had indeed been correct when he had said that they had grown to love each other in the past years. He had been correct when he said that he had provided her with everything that she wanted, including their son. But he hadn't given her true love, had he? And he hadn't given her the assurance that if the Dark Lord returned, Lucius would put Draco before the Dark Lord, and not the other way round.

As she stared at the ceiling which was hardly visible in the darkness, she heard the sound of the door to her room being opened. She wondered for a moment whether it was Lucius, and her hand went out to reach her wand to light the candles.

But as she heard the faint sound of bare feet walking towards her, she knew that it wasn't Lucius, but Draco.

"Mother?" she heard his voice, which sounded strangely like a small child's. And she knew that he had been crying.

"Come here, darling," she said, and he crept into her bed, her hand catching hold of his smaller one to guide him through the darkness.

"Did he…did he hurt you, Mother?" he asked her. "I am sorry I couldn't stop him…I…I should have protected you…" he sniffled.

"Oh no, child. I am fine," she said, wincing slightly as his hand touched her wrist.

"I am sorry, Mother…I couldn't protect you…I saw Acquila, when Sirius dueled with Professor Snape…she stood up to defend her father in the Great Hall the moment she saw Snape raise his wand against Sirius…but I…I wasn't…"

"Oh, Draco. I love you so much, child. And it doesn't matter if you aren't as brave as others are…I'll love you the same, no matter what you do…You're _my_ son…my only child…" she said, running her hands through his soft blonde hair, as she felt his tears dampen the front of her robes as he buried his face into her.

"Will he…will he really…throw you out of the Manor?" he whispered, as Narcissa realised that Draco had witnessed the whole episode. He had probably hidden somewhere, wanting to assure himself that Lucius wouldn't hurt her.

"He won't, Draco. And if he does…I'll never stop loving you…" she whispered back.

"Can I…can I stay here tonight?" he mumbled.

"Yes, darling," she said, pressing a kiss onto his forehead and pulling him into her embrace.

But as Draco finally fell asleep, Narcissa remained awake the entire night, wondering whether she had taken the right decision by supporting Sirius over Lucius.

**xxx**

Harry picked up his crispy bacon and put it into his mouth, looking at Sirius, who was perusing every page of the Daily Prophet. Harry knew that Sirius was reading through the Prophet to make sure that nothing was printed about Harry and the Dursleys.

When Harry had woken up in the morning, Sirius had told him about where he had disappeared in a hurry the previous night.

Harry smiled as he thought of the warmth that had surged through him when Sirius had told him that he had managed to stop Fudge from publishing the report. Harry wouldn't at all have wanted the entire wizarding world to know that the Dursleys hadn't treated him well. Nor had he wanted people to view him in a pitying light. And knowing that Sirius cared enough for Harry to even threaten the Minister of Magic, made Harry feel loved. He hadn't been used to having an adult care for him. And Sirius having gone out of his way to spare Harry the embarrassment of having his childhood laid before the entire wizarding world proved Harry's belief that Sirius cared for him as much as he cared for Acquila.

"What are you smiling for, Harry?" Sirius asked him, noticing the small smile gracing Harry's features.

"Nothing," replied Harry. "You don't need to read the entire newspaper, Sirius," he said to his Godfather, who was still going through each and every corner of the Prophet, even the smallest of news reports. "He's the Minister of Magic! I am sure he won't go back on his word!"

"You never know with these politicians, Harry. You shouldn't be too trusting," replied Sirius in a serious tone. "I have learnt that the hard way."

Harry nodded his head, knowing that Sirius was referring to Pettigrew, and resolved to keep that piece of advice in mind. He had realised that he had a lot to learn if Voldemort was to make an attempt to return.

Acquila walked down to the kitchen, yawning. She filled a glass a juice and plopped down next to Harry.

"I don't know how you wake up this late, Acquila! In school Hermione and you are always the first ones to get ready," teased Harry.

"It's the vacations! We are supposed to sleep till late! I don't know why _you _wake up this early!" she retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm used to waking up early. I used to wake up even earlier at the Dursleys," replied Harry and on catching sight of the murderous look on Sirius' face at the mention of the Dursleys, Harry thoughtit prudent to change the topic.

"We are going to Aunt Cassiopeia's house today," he smiled at her.

"Oh yes! I almost forgot about it," Acquila said, as she ran through her breakfast and sprinted up to her room to get ready.

"Come on kids! Time to go!" Sirius announced to them half an hour later. "Aunt Cassiopiea will be waiting for us."

"Let's go," Harry said, walking towards the door as Acquila came down with Nyx in her hands.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked him. "We are going by floo this time; not by Portkey. I sent an owl to Aunt Cassiopeia informing her of our arrival. He elf will keep the floo open for us to go through"

"But…but I haven't travelled by floo before," said Harry in apprehension.

"I have, Harry, remember? It's easy!" Acquila informed him. "It's easy. All you have to do is throw the powder in the flames and clearly state the name of the place you want to go," she explained as he nodded, remembering having seen Aunt Andromeda entering through the fireplace.

"When have _you_ travelled by floo?" Sirius asked her curiously.

"When I went for the guardianship hearing with Professor Dumbledore," replied Acquila.

Sirius just nodded his head, not wanting to talk about the hearing. He went through first to show Harry how it was to be done.

Harry stepped in next. He threw the powder into the flames, watching them as they turned green.

"Black Manor!" he said loud and clear and soon he was passing through numerous fireplaces before he finally landed with a thud at his destination. He got up and brushed the ash off his robes. A moment later, Acquila walked in through the fireplace gracefully, with Nyx in her hand.

Harry realised that they were standing in the living room. The teal-coloured ornate sofa was huge and the similar coloured armchair looked rather like a throne. The carpet was dark green while the curtains were emerald and were held together by silver clasps. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling but it wasn't as big or as exquisite as the one they had seen at the Castle. But this was the cleanest of all the Manors they'd seen. There was a big portrait of a Black ancestor above the fireplace and Harry was pretty sure he was glaring at him, though he couldn't say why.

"Hello Grandfather Cygnus," said Sirius to the portrait through gritted teeth; as Cygnus Black II's glaring eyes shifted from Harry to Sirius.

"Merlin me! I am your Great-Grandfather, lad! Forgotten the family tree, have you?" growled the portrait as Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me! I had such high expectations of you, but you shattered them all. Though I must admit that it's nice to see you out of Azkaban! At least we have a Head of House now. Now all you need is a son to carry on our family name," drawled the man in the portrait.

Acquila frowned and then looked from her ancestor to her father, waiting for his answer.

"I already have an heir, _Great Grandfather_," said Sirius firmly. "My daughter, Acquila," he continued, putting his hands on Acquila's shoulder as Cygnus Black peered at the young girl, who sighed in relief.

"A girl can never be the Head of the House of Black, Sirius! You surely know that! You still disgrace us, Blood-traitor. You have not changed at all! You even brought a half-blood to Black Manor," seethed Cygnus Black in anger, glaring at Harry. "Get him out of my sight! I'm glad I died before seeing such filth setting foot on the Noble property on my ancestors who-"

"Enough!" shouted Sirius. "Not a word more about my Godson! Your own daughter has invited us here. And I am sure you know that this house is going to belong to me in a few days. A few more derogatory words about either of my children, and I might just set your portrait on fire-"

"How dare you-"

"And I'm glad you died too," Sirius continued mockingly, before steering the kids further into the room, ignoring Cygnus who glared at him. If looks could kill, Sirius would have been Avada Kedavrad on the spot!

Suddenly, a house elf appeared before them, clad in a small, frilly, pink frock. Needless to say, the frock looked horrible on the elf but it was still better than the ragged piece of cloth that Dobby was forced to wear. It looked very similar to Dobby, the only thing indicating it being a female was the frock and its voice which was higher-pitched than Dobby's voice.

"Mopsy welcomes Master Black and his children to Black Manor! And Mopsy is here to take them to her Mistress Black!" squeaked the elf with nervous excitement and Nyx's green eyes glowered at her suspiciously.

"Mopsy is glad to serve young Master Potter and Miss Black! Mopsy loves children, Sir! And there be no children in Black Manor since Master Cygnus' daughters grow up," she squeaked as Harry and Acquila smiled at her hesitantly.

Mopsy walked up the marble staircase and they followed suit. The bearings of the staircase had snake scales craved on them. They followed the elf past a few more portraits of Black ancestors. One of them was Violetta Black, Cassiopiea's mother and Cygnus Black's wife, who seemed to be no different than her husband.

They reached a room and Mopsy announced their entry.

They saw Cassiopiea sitting on her bed; her back supported by many pillows. She was covered in blankets and she looked far frailer than she had looked at the Ball at Malfoy Manor.

Her cheeks were sunken in her face, while her eyes were lined with many more wrinkles. But as she saw them enter, she smiled, and that single smile seemed to take years off her face.

"I welcome you to Black Manor. And I am extremely pleased to have the three of you here," she said formally; her eyes showing genuine happiness.

"Aunt Cassiopeia! What…what happened to you!" gasped Acquila as she walked up to the old lady, setting Nyx down, as the cat sprinted away to explore the Manor further. What had happened to her? Why did she seem so frail? Acquila remembered Cassiopeia saying that she wouldn't live long, but she hadn't expected to see her in such a state.

"Don't worry about me, child. Tell me about you. You must be really happy to be reunited with your father," she said. "And you too, Harry. Glad to have finally met your Godfather?"

"Yes!" replied both of them together.

"Sirius! You look better than I'd expected. I see Azkaban hasn't had that much of an effect on you," she said with a smile. "Good, good! I'm glad our Noble House has a Head of House who isn't whiling his life away in Azkaban!"

Siriua shook his head in annoyance. "You sound just like your father, Aunt Cassiopeia!"

"He wasn't rude, was he?" she asked them anxiously.

"No more than he usually is," replied Sirius, knowing he would have to talk to Harry about ignoring Cygnus' half-blood taunts.

Mopsy entered the room with a tray full with four mugs of liquid and an assortment of cookies.

"Mopsy is being happy to bake cookies for Master Potter and Miss Black!" she squeaked, and Harry realised that the elf was excited at having more people to serve.

"You can call me Harry," he told her, flabbergasted as the elf's eyes began to tear up suddenly.

"Mopsy, why don't you start the preparations for lunch?" said Cassiopeia as the elf bowed and disappeared.

"Mopsy is a house-elf, Harry. And she wouldn't take kindly to having to refer to you by your given name. I am sure Sirius will tell you more about house-elves in due time," she smiled at him and Harry nodded.

The three of them ate the cookies in silence; none of them knowing what to say. Harry noticed that Sirius too, seemed at a loss of words.

The awkward silence was broken as Aunt Cassiopeia said, "You should try drinking the Gillywater; it's one of Mopsy's specialties."

Harry took hold of a glass as each of them sipped the delicious drink in silence.

"I'm really glad to see you here," said Cassiopeia suddenly. "It's nice to know that I will be dying amidst family," she smiled as the situation seemed to grow even more awkward.

Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it again, not knowing what to say. He had never really known Cassiopeia well, and it was strange trying to reacquaint with the dying lady. Harry and Acquila too, stared at each other, at a loss for words.

"You will stay here, won't you? I would like to have some company in my last days," she continued, looking at Sirius expectantly.

"Of course, we will," said Harry suddenly, before looking at Sirius for confirmation. Cassiopeia was family! And for someone who had grown up with only a bullying cousin and an uncaring Aunt and Uncle as family, Cassiopeia meant a lot to Harry, especially since he knew that she had loved his Grandmother Dorea.

"Yes, we will," said Sirius, as a smile bloomed on Cassiopeia's face.

"Mopsy!" she called out in a soft voice and instantly, the elf apparated into the room.

"Mopsy is here, Mistress Black!" said the elf as she bowed.

"Show the guests to their rooms and do change them according to their needs, Mopsy," she told the house-elf and then turned to her guests, saying, "I will see you at supper!"

She then closed her eyes, and seemed to have fallen asleep instantly.

Mopsy guided them to their rooms.

Harry's room was quite big, with a large bed and a huge wardrobe. He plopped onto his bed as Sirius sent Mopsy to the Tonks' residence to fetch their things and also to inform them that they' would be staying at Black Manor.

Acquila sat down beside him.

"This place doesn't seem that bad, does it?" she said. "I'm going to have my room painted purple and white. What about you?"

"Gryffindor colours probably," he replied glancing around his room; and that is when he spotted a portrait hanging on the wall, but it was empty. By the time he turned to point out the portrait to Acquila, a man suddenly appeared in it.

"Grandfather Phineas!" exclaimed Acquila, as she too spotted the portrait.

"Sweet Slytherin! Are my eyes deceiving me? A half-blood in the house of my fathers! What has the house of Black come too!" he exclaimed rather dramatically.

"Enough of the theatrics, Grandfather Phineas! Shouldn't you be in Dumbledore's office annoying the other portraits?" sneered Sirius.

"My my my! You look much better today than the last time I saw you in the Headmaster's office! You seem to have regained much of your famed looks; I might just have considered acknowledging you as my descendant if I were alive," said Phineas snidely, though his eyes glinted with amusement.

"But I might just refrain from acknowledging you as my ancestor," smirked Sirius. "Least loved Headmaster of Hogwarts, weren't you?" chuckled Sirius.

"Enough, lad!" growled Phineas, though the glint in his eyes remained. "But talking of Potter here, you shouldn't have brought him here! You know the rules, don't you? Only pure-bloods can-"

"I," interrupted Sirius smugly, "Am the Head of your House now! And I will set the rules!" he winked at the portrait, as Phineas sneered at him and walked out of the portrait, after one last look at Harry and Acquila who had been watching the banter between the two Blacks in amusement.

"Where did he go?" asked Harry in amazement.

"To his portrait in the Headmaster's office, probably. He can travel to any of his portraits, anywhere as long as they are his, you know…or he might have gone to Grimmauld Place to tell my dear mother to tell her of what her brat is up to," Sirius snorted.

"I'm sure he's gone to tell Dumbledore that we're here," said Acquila.

"Oh yes, he will tell him," responded Sirius, knowing that Dumbledore would want to know of their whereabouts.

"Can't we remove the portrait?" Harry asked him, not keen on having Phineas flitting into his room frequently.

"We can't, Harry. All the portraits have a permanent sticking charm," Sirius replied.

"Oh!" exclaimed Harry as they saw Mopsy apparating into the room, calling them for lunch; and they followed her to the dining room.

**xxx**

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, and Sirius was heartened to see that Harry and Acquila seemed to love being around Cassiopeia. The old witch had regaled the children with tales of her childhood with Dorea, and with stories from James' childhood.

Despite just a few hours having passed since they had entered the Manor, the children seemed to have settled in well, except from occasional barbs from some of the portraits. And Mopsy's cooking was a big plus. Sirius was sure that a few more days of Mopsy's cooking, and Harry would grow put of his skinny frame. The little elf seemed to love having the kids around, and she was kept busy as she prepared delicacies for the children.

Harry and Acquila spent the afternoon with Cassiopeia, telling her about their childhood, with Harry omitting to mention his das with the Dursleys. They then told her of their trapdoor adventure, glazing over the parts about Voldemort possessing Quirrell.

"You won't believe it, Aunt Cassiopeia," exclaimed Harry animatedly, "But I felt the curse too! I still don't understand how that happened!"

As Sirius entered the room, he noticed the angry expression on Cassiopeia's face; but then he turned to Acquila as she asked him, "Dad, did Dumbledore tell you anything about what happened when Quirrell cursed me?"

It was then that Sirius realised that Cassiopeia was furious about what the kids had to go through. Sirius stiffened at Acquila's question, but maintained an impassive expression. He didn't want to lie to the children, but he realised that Dumbledore and Remus were right about wanting to keep the kids in the dark about the bond till they grew old enough to understand it.

"No, love. He said he'll look into it and tell us if he finds anything," he replied.

"Do you believe him? I don't believe there is anything that Dumbledore wouldn't know," Acquila said indignantly.

"You are right probably, but even if he does know I can't force him to tell us. And Dumbledore's generally right in such matters," Sirius replied, desperately thinking of a way to change the topic.

"We can research on it ourselves, can't we, Acquila?" Harry said, with sudden enthusiasm.

"Yes! We can ask Hermione and Ron to help us too!" exclaimed Acquila and then turned to Aunt Cassiopiea.

"May we look through your library, Aunt Cassiopeia?"

"Of course, my dear!" she replied, smiling.

Sirius, meanwhile, didn't know what to do. He couldn't stop them from searching for matter related to the bond; he could only hope that they wouldn't find out soon.

"Master Potter, your owl has returned with a reply!" Mopsy said, as she apparated into the room.

"We had written to Ron and Hermione about us staying here," Harry explained to Sirius.

"Come on, Harry! Let's write to them about researching on this queer connection that you and I seem to have," said Acquila.

"I bet Hermione will be the first one to find out," chuckled Harry said as they hurried out of the room.

"You know, Sirius, your kids are a curious lot and seem to have a penchant for adventure," smiled Aunt Cassiopiea after the kids had left.

"Indeed," Sirius said, wondering what would happen when they would find out about the bond.

"They will find out about it one day or the other, Sirius," said Cassiopeia suddenly.

"Find out what?" he exclaimed.

"About their bond, of course!"

Sirius gaped at her in shock. Was their bond that obvious? How had Cassiopeia known about the bond? Would even more people notice it? He couldn't have anyone whose sympathies lay with Voldemort knowing about the bond. And what if the Daily Prophet got wind of the bond? That was the last thing he wanted.

"You know about it too, don't you?" Cassiopeia asked as he broke out of his thoughts.

He nodded. "I do. But how did you know of it?" he asked her, perplexed.

"What do you think I have done for the years that I have lived here solitarily? I read books, of course. There are a very few books regarding magic which I haven't read-"

"So cam you tell me more about the Bond?" he asked her eagerly.

"I am afraid I can't," she replied gravely.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because none of the books explicitly mentioned a soul bond. I haven't even read about a bonded couple, though I have had my suspicions…especially the Flamels," she muttered, "But coming back to the topic at hand, I can't tell you about the Bond as books don't mention it…they just contain vague references to a soul bond. They talk of how a Bonded couple can feel each other's emotions, feel the other's physical pain, know when the other is in danger…they grow stronger when they're closer and weaker when they're apart; and by close, I don't mean just physically close, but mentally and emotionally as well…but a soul bond is unchartered territory for most authors and writers since there hasn't been a Bonded couple since centuries…" she trailed off.

"Are these books in the Library?"

"Yes, they are…but I don't really remember the titles…I had read them years ago…but don't worry, the kids won't find them…the Library has thousands of books," she added on seeing Sirius' worried expression.

"I will have to find the books... I need to know what the kids will be going through," said Sirius. "And you won't tell them, will you?"

"No Sirius. It isn't my place to tell them. I believe that they should unravel this on their own, it will help their bond grow," she smiled.

"Thank you," Sirius said, relived.

"It's _I_ who needs to thank you, for bringing the kids here and letting them stay. A Bonded couple is a rare phenomenon. And I am glad to have known such a couple. I just wish I could have seen them grow and watched their Bond blossom," she sighed.

Sirius wanted to say 'you will' but he knew better than to give her an empty assurance. He sat by her bed, and took her wrinkled hand in his.

"I'm glad you are here, son," she said as her hand rose to caress Sirius' head in blessing.

**xxx**

"I've invited someone over today, Aunt Cassiopeia. I hope you don't mind," said Sirius as he entered Cassiopeia's room the next morning after breakfast.

"You can invite anyone you want, Sirius. Black Manor is going to belong to you by the end of the week," she smiled weakly.

"You aren't dying! I've told Andy to contact a couple of good healers-"

"No, Sirius. There isn't any need for healers. I know I haven't got long. And I prefer dying in my house rather than at St. Mungos with a healer trying to feed my potion every other hour. Now will you tell me who is it that you have invited?" she asked him as Sirius made to retort.

"She's a half-blood. I really hope you aren't averse to it," he replied, disliking having to distinguish people on the basis of their lineage, but not wanting to go against a dying woman's wishes.

"I don't mind," she replied softly, much to his surprise. "But tell me who-"

"Wotcher, Sirius!" the voice from the door had Cassiopeia's words dying on her lips.

"Hey, Nymphie!" winked Sirius before turning towards Cassiopeia.

"This is Nymphadora Tonks, Andy's-"

"Andromeda's daughter. I know," put in Cassiopeia.

"Umm...Good morning," said Nymphadora awkwardly as Sirius stifled a grin.

In the few days that he had known the grown-up Metamorphmagus, Sirius had realised that Nymphadora was a friendly girl who rarely felt any awkwardness with strangers. But judging from the silk robes she had donned-a far cry from the Muggle clothes he had seen her wearing- and the slight hesitation which she seemed to carry, Sirius knew that Andromeda had probably drilled some pure-blood etiquettes into her daughter. It was strange how even the disowned Blacks seemed to be unable to subdue the Black within them- whether it was Andy, who had named her daughter rather ridiculously after a Constellation or Sirius himself, who had used his last name to maneuver Fudge into doing his bidding.

"I hope you're doing well. I mean-" started Nymphadora but Cassiopeia cut her off with a curt "I'm alright."

Nymphadora looked at Sirius for help; at a loss of words after Cassiopeia's cold reply.

"Nymphie...I mean, Nymphadora wanted to meet the kids," said Sirius, ignoring Dora's frown when he said 'Nymphadora'. "And the children wanted to meet her as well. They're quite fond of her," he continued, noticing that Cassiopeia was looking rather intently at Nymphadora, who gave a smile to the older witch who didn't return it

"Is that so? Then why don't you go and spend time with the children?" said Cassiopeia to Dora, just as the younger girl was about to say something.

"Uh…alright," replied Nymphadora, and walked away after a small smile at Sirius.

Sirius turned around to face the window, not wanting to rant his anger at his great-Aunt. Why had she behaved this rudely with Nymphie; despite saying that she did not mind having a half-blood in the house? And he was sure that it wasn't due to Nymphie's lineage, because Cassiopeia behaved sweetly with Harry, despite him being a half-blood as well.

"Why were you so rude to her?" he asked her suddenly as he turned around to face her, deciding that he _did _want an answer.

Cassiopeia said nothing, preferring to stare at her wizened hands with her bluish veins standing out on the pale skin. Sirius stood silent, waiting patiently for an answer till Cassiopeia finally looked up at him.

"Have you ever wondered why I never married, Sirius?" she asked him softly, gesturing towards the chair at the foot of her bed, wanting him to sit.

He walked towards the chair, wondering why Cassiopeia had asked him this. Of course he _had _pondered over the reason for Cassiopeia's unmarried status. She had been the eldest daughter of Cygnus Black II. And though daughters weren't cherished as sons were in the Black family, they did have value since they could be married off to form alliances with other pure-blood families. He had even asked his Grandfather about Cassiopeia when he had been teaching Sirius the family tree, but Arcturus had refused to reply, telling Sirius to concentrate on the achievements of Phineas Nigellus instead; and then Sirius had gradually forgotten about it.

"Yes, I have," he replied finally, looking into the old lady's face. Her eyes seemed to blaze with a strange intensity- one he had never imagined the fatally-ill witch capable of carrying.

"I was in my sixth year at Hogwarts, and thought I was proficient in most subjects, Charms wasn't my forte. And my parents, who had warned the Headmaster that I, being the eldest daughter of the House, should get the best of education, were quite furious at my low grades in Charms. Unlike your mother Walburga who never really cared about a female's education; my parents wanted the best for a daughter of the House of Black. And so, the Headmaster deemed it prudent to appoint a tutor for me. Unfortunately, the student he entrusted with the job of tutoring me, was a Muggle-born Ravenclaw," said Cassiopeia softly, her eyes glancing into something beyond the hills that she could see through the window.

Sirius said nothing, astonished at seeing the strange glint in Cassiopeia's eyes- a mixture of acute sadness and extreme happiness, and surprised at her saying 'Muggle-born' rather than 'Mudblood'.

"Lewis Stafford was his name. He was the first –ever wizard to be born into his Muggle family. And he was the best student at Charms in all of Hogwarts. I refused to be tutored by him at first, threatening the Headmaster that I would complain to my parents that he was forcing me to be tutored by a Muggle-born. But then, I thought better of it, and decided to give a lesson or two to Lewis about the supremacy of my blood; and to prove that a wizard of no magical ancestry like him, could never be better than me at something," she smiled, still not looking at Sirius.

"I was very rude to him at first, but he was a cheerful boy. He never retaliated to my rudeness, which at times bordered on incivility; but always continued to try teaching me Charms spells with a smile on his face. And as time passed, I grew to realise that what I had been taught about Muggle-borns by my family wasn't necessarily true. I observed him minutely. He wasn't as ill-mannered as my parents had told me Muggle-borns were supposed to be; on the contrary, he was extremely well-mannered- a result of being born in an extremely wealthy Muggle family. And he was intelligent; wiser than any of the pure-blood students. And he was an extremely powerful wizard, unlike what I had perceived Muggle-borns to be. And he was the Head-boy as well, having beaten a host of pure-blood boys to the post. He tutored me till we were in tour seventh year at Hogwarts. And he was the only person who saw me for what I was. Just Cassiopeia. Not the eldest daughter of the Blacks, not as a descendant of one of the most ancient magical families. He loved me for just being me; despite my occasional snobbery, and the bigoted ideals I had been brought up with. And I knew not, when I fell in love with him. And well, he started courting me. I was betrothed, you know, to Curtbane Avery since I was fourteen-"

Sirius interrupted her, "Did nobody know you were dating…I mean-"

"No. I had taken great pains to ensure that we always met in secrecy. Even the tutoring lessons were conducted in a Professor's classroom, so that nobody would tell my parents that I was being taught by a Muggle-born. Nobody knew, except Dorea," she replied.

"So well," she continued with a sigh, "Our last year at Hogwarts came to an end. And I did not what to do. Lewis was ready to talk to my parents about wanting to marry me. He couldn't even think of the mere idea of me being with Curtbane. But I refused to let him meet my parents. I wasn't ready to face them with a Muggle-born by my side. He even told me that he was ready to elope with me…all he wanted was for me to trust him, and to trust in the love that he held for me…but I refused…I couldn't bear to let go of my status in the wizarding world…I couldn't bear to tell my parents that I had betrayed them…couldn't stand even the mere idea of being disowned by my family like Isla Black was. I told him to let go of me; but he refused…he said that he knew I would come back to him, and that he would wait for me always," she said, her voice suddenly gaining a choked edge.

"I came back here after my seventh year, and they started preparing for my wedding. It was to be the biggest event that year. But a week before the wedding, I knew that I couldn't marry Curtbane. My heart yearned for Lewis, and I realised that I couldn't bear to be married to someone who wasn't him. I gathered all my courage, and went to my Mother. I confessed to her that I loved Lewis and couldn't go ahead with the wedding…they were outraged…all of them…my father, my mother, my grandparents. I had shamed them. They locked me up in my room; Dorea was the only one who managed to smuggle in food and water for me…and then my father came up to me…he said that if I refused to marry Curtbane, they would kill Lewis…I panicked…I couldn't bear the thought of Lewis dying…I gave in…I agreed to marry Curtbane. And my father told me that I was never to mention Lewis to anyone again," she paused, her eyes suddenly gaining an extremely pained look.

"There were three days left for my wedding…and Dorea smuggled in the Daily Prophet for me to read…they killed him," she whispered brokenly, a solitary tear sliding down her wrinkled face, which she quickly wiped away with her hand.

"They tortured him with the Crutiatus…and then killed him…his body lay in the middle of the street outside his house…my father backtracked on his word…and they had him killed for daring to court me…I was heart-broken…and I went up to my father and pledged that I would never marry…he was outraged…he denied having had Lewis killed…and I felt that he wasn't lying…but I knew it was someone from the family…they knew I loved Lewis…and they didn't trust me to keep up my promise…they couldn't risk having me sully the name of our family…and with Lewis dead, they knew I would have to bow to their wishes and marry Curtbane," she said in a choked voice, while Sirius was unsure of how to console her.

"I refused to marry Curtbane…they killed Lewis…he died because of me… he died only because of me! And I couldn't stand even the thought of being with another man…so I refused to marry him…they tried to force me, torture me even…but I told them outright, that if they forced me to go ahead with the marriage, I would tell Curtbane and his family, that I had already given all of myself to a Muggle-born," she said, "And that would bring infamy to our family in pure-blood circles…my parents realised that I was firm on my word, and that I would never give in…they somehow managed to wrangle out of the marriage and got Curtbane married to a first cousin on my mother's side instead…and they told me, that if I wouldn't want to be obliviated of the memories, I would better adhere to all the family's beliefs and maintain a pure-blood-minded façade in society…I agreed. With Lewis dead, I didn't really have anywhere to go…and it was my attachment to my last name and my family that had led to me refusing to elope with Lewis in the first place…and so…well, I never married…and I know that Lewis will be waiting for me in the world which exists beyond our world. He's waited long you know, but he won't have to wait long…I will be with him in just a few days…and that's why I'm looking forward to dying, Sirius. I'm not afraid of death, rather I'm waiting to welcome it with open arms…and I'm really glad that you're living here with the children. I'm sure Harry and Acquila will realise that they are meant for each other. And then Acquila's second-born son if she has one, or the first-born, if she has only one son, will tale over as the Head of the House of Black. I'm sorry that I won't be here to see that happen, but I'm glad that I can spend the last of my days with the two children who will carry on the name of the Blacks-"

"I don't understand!" exclaimed Sirius suddenly. "They killed the man you love! And you are concerned about the bloody House of Black!" he growled furiously.

"You know, Sirius; a Black may be disowned, disinherited, thrown out of the house; but a member of the House of Black can never stop being a Black at heart. Why do you think Alphard left all his wealth to you? Not only because you were his favourite nephew, but because he couldn't stand the thought of a member of the House having no fortune of his own! Why do you think Andromreda named her only daughter after a Constellation? Even Narcissa managed to convince her husband to name their son keeping in line with the Black family traditions! And I'm sure that there will be many incidents in the future, when even a man of morals like you, is going to use the power that your last name holds to get things done," she smiled dryly.

"But they killed him!" he said, outraged. "Take me for example! I will never ever forgive Peter Pettigrew because he killed Athena! How can you even live in this house, knowing that the people who lived here tortured Lewis to death?"

"Pettigrew wasn't your family, Sirius-"

"He was as good as my family! James, Remus and Peter! They were my family!"

"At the cost of sounding clichéd, I must say that blood is thicker than water," Cassiopeia chuckled lightly, while Sirius rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"You Blacks are insane!" he said in annoyance.

"You are a Black as well, Sirius. And believe me, all of us Blacks are eccentric in our own ways. You can't take the darkness, the eccentricity and the short temper out of a Black," she smirked lightly, while Sirius sighed in annoyance. He had had enough of listening to matters regarding the House of Black. And Cassiopeia's words about Harry and Acquila's future son had rather rattled him. Acquila was his daughter! His only child! And though he loved Harry, he preferred to think of Acquila not marrying till she was thirty, let alone birthing children. He had missed out on a decade of her childhood, and though she wasn't the tiny toddler who would stumble while walking towards him, he wanted her to remain his little girl for as long as possible.

"But what had this got to do with Nymphie-" he started, coming back to the point where the conversation had begun, before stopping in mid-sentence as his eyes widened slightly in comprehension.

"You envy Andy, don't you? And when you see Nymphie, you wonder what a daughter born to you and Lewis would have looked like," he said softly.

"You're right," she whispered in reply, her eyes misting up again, before a slight flicker of longing flickered across her wizened features.

"I am not what you would call a good person, Sirius. My pride in being a Black stopped me from eloping with Lewis. And honestly, my lack of courage played a big part in it as well. I not only loved being a Black, but I didn't have the courage to act against my family. But when I heard of Andromeda eloping with the Muggle-born…I could have supported her if I wished to, since I had been through the same…but I didn't. I envied her! I envied her courage! I envied that her love for Ted Tonks was much, much stronger than my love for Lewis! And when I heard that she had given birth to a daughter, I wished that the girl was mine and not Andromeda's …I regretted my decisions! I would have been in Andromeda's place with a daughter of my own…I would probably have been surrounded with grandchildren of my own in my dying days, like Andromeda will be…but I was weak. And I was a coward. And I detest Andromeda and her daughter, not only because she had the gumption to do what I couldn't, but because every time I think of her, I realise what I have lost," Cassiopeia said softly.

"It isn't Andy's fault-"

"I know that it isn't…it's my fault…whether it's Lewis' death, or letting Pollux bully me into refusing to keep in contact with Dorea…when Lewis was killed, I had nowhere to go. I had nothing to live for, no money of my own…so I knew that the only way I could live a peaceful life with the luxuries I had been used to, was by acting the part of a Black. I pretended to have known the error of my ways, a few years after Lewis' death. I portrayed that I believed in blood-supremacy, pretended to agree with Arcturus' anti-Muggle views…and after James married the Muggle-born-"

"Lily Evans," put in Sirius.

"Yes. Lily. Dorea had invited me for the wedding. But things between the Blacks and the Potters had worsened when Charlus took you in as a second son. And they named the Potters as blood-traitors after James' wedding…and I did not go against the wishes of Pollux and Arcturus, and didn't keep in touch with Dorea…I am a coward, Sirius. I am a complete coward," she muttered.

But as Sirius made to reply, she looked at him beseechingly, "You won't tell this to the children till they are old enough to understand, will you? I don't want their memory of me to be tainted-"

"I won't," he promised her.

"Thank you. I wish to be alone for some time now," she told him and he nodded in acquiescence, and then got up preparing to leave.

"Sirius?" she said when he reached the door.

"Yes?" he turned around to face her, realising that she looked older than he had ever seen her look. She seemed to have aged in a matter of minutes.

"After you bury me in the Black graveyard, I want you to move my remains to the Muggle Graveyard in St. Agnes' church; in complete secrecy. The address is in this drawer," she said, gesturing towards the drawer.

"I have already paid for the grave. I wish to be laid to rest next to Lewis," she whispered as Sirius nodded in agreement and then left, leaving the old witch to her thoughts.

He sighed as he walked towards the room where the kids were playing a Muggle board game that Nymphadora had brought with her. He knew that he was probably the first person whom Cassiopeia had told about her past in the last few decades. Did he pity Cassiopeia? He did. He felt that she deserved a lot better than what fate had dealt her. But then, it was she who had been responsible for the path her life had taken.

But he was glad that he had decided to stay here with the children; as he knew that having Harry, Dorea's only grandson with her in her dying days, would give Cassiopeia solace.

**xxx**

Narcissa Malfoy walked into the drawing room of Black Manor, having flooed in with Draco, to visit the ailing Cassiopeia. For the past decade, with Narcissa being the only member of the Black family who wasn't disowned, it was she who had taken to visiting all her older relations, once a week. And with Pollux, Arcturus and Lucretia having died in the past two years, it pained Narcissa to think that Cassiopeia too, was on the verge of death.

She had received Cassiopeia's letter the previous night, and after having secured Lucius' grudging permission, she had come to Black Manor with Draco.

"Hello, Cissy!"

It was the voice that had Narcissa shuddering involuntarily. Sirius was at Black Manor! But she hadn't even had an inkling of it! But she was sure, that if Lucius knew that she had met Sirius, he would be furious.

"Hello, Sirius," she replied, tying to maintain her calm demeanor.

"Hello, Draco," said Sirius grudgingly, and the blonde-haired boy nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hello…hello, Uncle Sirius," he said, before gathering his courage and asking him, "Is Acquila here as well?"

Sirius stifled his urge to yell at the boy, before nodding in affirmation.

"She's here. You may meet her after you meet Aunt Cassiopeia," he replied curtly.

"Thank you," said Draco, before rushing towards Cassiopeia's room. He quite liked the old lady. And with both his grandmothers having passed away when he was younger, Cassiopeia was like a surrogate grandmother to him.

"I want to thank you, Cissy, for telling me about Fudge's plans," said Sirius, stepping towards her; but he stopped as he saw her taking a step backwards.

"What's the matter?" he asked her in surprise. Why was Narcissa behaving aloofly with him; when she was the one who had informed him of Fudge and Lucius' intentions?

Narcissa saw Sirius' brow furrowing in thought; she could almost imagine the brain churning in bewilderment. Not wanting him to know that something was amiss, she said, "Nothing, Sirius. I was just feeling a little uneasy-"

With a flick of his wand, a glass and a jug of water came zooming towards him. He poured out the water into the glass and handed it to her, as she reluctantly sat down on the sofa, facing him.

Out of habit, she extended her right arm to take the glass, but then winced in pain. She hadn't been to see a Healer, as she knew that questions would be asked; and she hadn't wanted to admit that it was her own husband who had hurt her. She could have threatened a Healer into keeping quiet and treating her without asking any questions as to the cause of her injury, but she knew that the Healer would certainly spread word amongst her peers that Narcissa Malfoy had come to her to heal an arm, which seemed to have been deliberately twisted to cause her pain. She cursed herself for not having known advanced healing charms.

She then extended her left hand and took hold of the glass, sipping the water gradually; she didn't dare meet Sirius' eyes which were blazing with curiosity.

"What happened to your arm, Narcissa?" he asked her, his Auror's gaze having missed nothing.

"Nothing," she replied, trying to meet his gaze with a casual look.

"Don't lie! You're hurt!" he said accusingly.

Narcissa stood up.

"I am going to visit Aunt Cassiopeia," she said and walked away without a backward glance at her perplexed cousin.

**xxx**

"Acquila!" exclaimed Draco, as he entered the Library where Acquila sat with Harry, going through an enormous tome.

"Draco!" she exclaimed happily, standing up and rushing towards her cousin.

"How are you? It's been so long since I've seen you!" she said.

"It's not even been ten days," Harry muttered under his breath; but Acquila seemed to have heard him and she gave him a warning glare.

"Acquila! I need to talk to you…please…I don't think we're going to be here for long," Draco told her in a rather pleading tone.

"Of course," she said, leading him outside the Library. But as Harry made to follow them, he turned around and spat at him, "Not you, Potter! I want to talk to my cousin! Alone!"

"I'm your cousin as well," Harry smirked rather like Sirius, though inwardly hating having acknowledged Draco as his cousin.

"A half-bl-" Draco's retort died on his lips as Acquila shot him a withering glare.

"Don't call Harry that!" she fumed, as Harry threw Draco a smug look, glad that Acquila had defended him.

"Alright, alright…I won't call Potter that…but please, Acquila…I want to talk to you," he said, his silver eyes almost begging her.

"Come on," she said grabbing Draco's hand and dragging him to her room, after throwing a fuming Harry an apologetic look.

**xxx**

"What!" gasped Acquila fifteen minutes later after Draco had narrated to her the events of the night where his father had argued with his mother.

"He can't hurt her like that! And you did nothing!" she exclaimed indignantly.

"I…I tried to stop him! But you don't know how my father is-"

"This isn't done! I am going to tell Dad about this! Maybe he'll put some sense into Lucius' Malfoy's brain!" she said furiously.

"NO!" said Draco, grasping her hand.

"Promise me you'll tell this to no one! Please! I shouldn't even have told you…but you're my best friend, Acquila…and I was scared…I don't want my mother to be thrown out of Malfoy Manor…he said he will never let her meet me again-"

"But you can't just do anything about it! Let me tell my Dad…please…he Aunt Narcissa's cousin! I'm sure he'll do something about this-"

"No, Acquila…Please…Promise me you'll tell no one…I just told you because I wanted to tell someone…I _had_ to tell someone… and…Merlin! Please….promise me," he whispered urgently.

"Alright," she sighed, giving in to him.

"Now, let's go. I'll show you a book I found in the Library," she said, knowing her father would probably come to check on what she was talking to Draco. She took his hand and pulled him towards the door, her mind still seething at Lucius' behavior towards his wife.

And true to her thoughts, Sirius met them just outside the door.

"What were you talking to him for so long?" he demanded, as Draco seemed to pale slightly.

"Nothing," said Acquila firmly, as Sirius shot her a disbelieving look.

"Go and play in the backyard," he said to her as she walked past him.

"And take Harry with you as well!" he added, wondering what Draco had been talking to Acquila.

**xxx**

"Narcissa!" Sirius called out to her as she walked towards the backyard to retrieve Draco who was engaged in a furious argument with Harry over the Slytherin and Gryffindor teams, with Acquila trying to play peace-maker.

"What is it, Sirius?" she asked him a tad wearily.

"Lucius hurt you, didn't he?" he asked her, coming straight to the point.

He observed his cousin's reaction minutely. She stiffened slightly at first, the pupils of her eyes widening, while a tiny flicker of emotion passed over her face. But it was momentary. A moment later, her face was back to its impassive stance.

"I have to go, Sirius. I need to reach home in time-"

"Don't you bloody avoid the topic!" he snarled. "You are my _cousin_! And though we may not concur on certain matters, I am not going to stand for someone hurting you! Especially someone who's your husband and is supposed to protect you, not hurt you!"

"You are mistaken-" she started, but he cut her off.

"Do you take me for a fool, Cissy?" he growled, as she flinched slightly, remembering Lucius having used these very same words.

"You are a Black! And a Malfoy! Nobody is going to have the guts to hurt you! And the fact that you are here with an aching arm, which you haven't healed yet; tells me that you haven't been to visit a Healer! And the only reason a rather delicate lady like you is going to prefer suffering rather than visiting a Healer to alleviate her pain, is if she had reason to hide the cause of her injury!" Sirius said pointedly, as Narcissa had an urge to curse Sirius' mind which more often than not led him to the correct conclusion.

"Look, Sirius. You don't need to bother about-"

"Of course, I need to bother! Because I know that Lucius hurt you! And I can even determine the reason for it! He found that you informed me of the report, didn't he?"

"Enough, Sirius!" she thundered suddenly, though he continued to glare at her.

"Please. Just let me leave-"

"Alright," he muttered, surprising her with him giving in this soon.

"But you will visit Andy to get your arm healed," he told her, more of a command than a request. "You'd better get it healed soon…it's a Death-eater tactic…twisting the arm of the victim to render their limb useless to shoot spells," he said quietly as she stiffened, before nodding reluctantly.

"Take care of Aunt Cassiopeia. And thank you," she whispered before going to the backyard to collect Draco.

"Thank you for informing me of Fudge's plan…and please, don't give in to Lucius," he replied softly, before walking away.

Narcissa was his cousin! And Lucius had hurt her for helping Sirius out! Though he knew that Cissy would never let him intervene, he knew that he would have to do something about the blonde-haired Malfoy Patriarch.

**xxx**

_Later that night,_

The raven-haired boy slept with his mouth slightly open. He breathed deeply at regular intervals; his features serene.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly. He turned around, his hand hitting against the headboard of the bed in the process, and he groaned.

"Ouch!" mumbled Harry as he clutched his hand in pain. He sat up gradually before groping for his glasses in the dark; as he finally found them and put them on.

He rubbed at his hand where it had hit the headboard.

Why had he woken up? He had dreamt that he had been playing Quidditch at Potter Manor with Sirius and Uncle Ted; but after that, the dream had turned into something that had made him feel very uneasy, though try as he might, he couldn't recollect the dream.

He looked around his room; the moon-rays coming in through the window shedding light on the furniture in the room.

Harry stood up and stretched his arms as he looked at the clock on the wall. It was just three in the morning. He then looked at Phineas Nigellus' portrait. But it was empty.

Why was he feeling uneasy? Something wasn't right.

He crept out of his room and climbed down the staircase; his feet walking of their own accord. Before he knew it, he was standing outside Cassiopeia's room. Why had he come there?

He made to turn around, before he heard a soft voice coming from within the room.

"Is…is that you, Harry?"

Harry opened the door and entered the room, stopping in his tracks as he saw Cassiopeia's pale face. She looked so pale and lifeless, that if he hadn't heard her calling out to him, he would have thought that she was no more.

"Aunt Cassiopeia! What's wrong?" he exclaimed as he rushed to her.

She seemed nothing like the regal woman he had first met at Narcissa's ball. She didn't even look like she had when he had first seen her at Black Manor. She looked almost tiny as she lay huddled beneath the blankets. He grasped hold of her hand which was extremely cold.

"Do you need something, Aunt Casssiopeia? I'll…wait, I'll call Sirius-"

"No, my child," she replied in almost a whisper.

"But…you need to see a doctor…I mean a healer," he exclaimed in a panicked voice. He knew she was dying.

"No, dear…nobody can help me now…I am beyond saving…" she mumbled between laboured breaths.

"You…you can't die…" he whispered brokenly, oblivious to his eyes prickling with tears.

"Don't cry, Harry…I am at peace…the House of Black is in safe hands…I know you'll keep it safe…" she mumbled, but Harry seemed to have not heard her as he grasped her hand tightly.

"No…you can't die…wait, I'll call Acquila…and Sirius…"

"Remember, Harry…always trust the bond…" she muttered, though Harry could make no sense of what she was saying.

"NO! SIRIUS!" Harry screamed as Cassiopeia's eyes began to close as her breaths started coming in gasps.

"SIRIUS! MOPSY!" he screamed again, as Cassiopeia's hold on his hand slackened.

"Don't forget….the bond…" she mumbled again, before gasping, "Lewis"; as Harry stared at her with teary-eyed green eyes, oblivious to the three pairs of footsteps rushing towards the room.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note****:** This chapter was actually too long, and so we are posting half of it now, and the other half will be up a couple of days later, when we are done fine-tuning. So unfortunately, this update is much shorter than the last one which was 40k+ words. We hope you like it nevertheless :-)

**Tori Luna Lily Tonks** - Though I'm sorry to have made you nearly cry, I'm glad that my writing was good enough to evoke such emotions in our readers ;-) And thanks! :-)

**xxSunnyXBlackxx** - Thank you so much! Love your reviews and looking forward to them! :-)

**Magicheart5355** - Thank you so much! Hope you like this update too!

**JordanMathias** - Is that so? I think we manage to write long chapters since it's two of us who write together :-) And I'm really glad that you liked the Draco part, since I was a bit apprehensive about how people would like it. Hope you like this chapter as well! :-)

**Theta-McBride**- Yes, he can see thestrals! ;-) Thanks!

**dream lighting**- More on the bond in the next chapter. I haven't really given a thought about whether Harry and Acquila will try to turn into Animagii; maybe when they grow up a little. Thanks! :-)

**mdauben-** Thanks a ton! :-)

**Mediatrix**- I'm really glad you liked it! As for Narcissa, I love writing her ...her character was probably the toughest one to write. Looking forward to know what you feel about this update!

**ThInKpOsItIvE**- Thank you so much! Na, he won't be upset for too long :-)

**Grazielly, Merida, Misty**- Thanks a lot!

**amoghtalwar**- Thank you so much! Na...Harry and Acquila won't argue much over Draco :-) And thank you so much for pointing that out! You're right, since the wizarding society is a patriarchal one, the second-born son will hold the Headship of the House of Black. Glad you pointed out the mistake! :-)

**PotterHead999**- Thank you so, so much! And I loved all the points that you mentioned! And I really love your reviews! :-D :-*

**Disclaimer****:** Don't own, don't sue. All belongs to JKR except for any original characters that you may notice.

**Chapter 19: The Funeral and the Full moon**

"SIRIUS! ACQUILA!" Harry screamed as he shook the lifeless body of Cassiopeia Black, unable to accept the fact that she was dead.

"No! You can't die! Wake up! Wake up!" he shouted, oblivious to Sirius' arms around him.

"Let go of her, Harry," said Sirius softly, prying Harry's hands off Cassiopeia, as he enveloped the teary-eyed boy into a hug; while Mopsy, the house-elf dissolved into a loud fit of tears.

"Waaah! Mistress Black is no more! Mopsy's Mistress is no more!" she wailed aloud, while Acquila stood motionless for a moment, her eyes moistening on looking at Cassiopeia's frail body, before she tried to console the house-elf.

"Harry, come on," said Sirius, as he finally managed to wrench him away from the bed into the next room.

"Sirius…I should have called you earlier…she…she could have been saved…but I didn't…I could have saved her, Sirius…I could have-"

"No, Harry," Sirius cut him off, looking into Harry's eyes; the vivid green of his moist irises glistening in the glow of the candles.

"It isn't your fault, kiddo," said Sirius softly, as he pulled him onto another hug.

"I told her that I'll call for you…and a healer…but she said not to…and I…I shouldn't have listened to her…I should have called out to you sooner…and then she wouldn't be…she wouldn't be dead…" said Harry in a choked whisper, his voice muffled against Sirius' robes.

"Look, Harry," said Sirius as he let go of the embrace and put his hands on Harry's shoulder, looking right at him. "It isn't your fault at all! She was fatally ill, Harry…this was meant to happen-"

"But I could have saved her!" said Harry earnestly. "I could have…if I had called you in time-"

"No, Harry! You aren't going to blame yourself for this!"

"But-"

"NO!" said Sirius firmly, as Harry finally snapped his mouth shut, to look at his Godfather.

"She was going die anyway, Harry," said Sirius softly. "She's been ill since the past few years. She had the Witch's Malady…do you know what that disease does? It's an incurable disease, Harry…and it generally affects Pure-blood witches…once someone gets afflicted with the Malady, they start losing their magic, their strength…the disease keeps on sucking on a witch's magic and energy…till the witch doesn't have any magic left to survive…and for a magical being to survive, the presence of magic within the being is essential…she _was going_ to pass away, Harry…you couldn't have helped her…even a healer couldn't have…and you know, kiddo…she is at a better place now…and I'm sure she's at peace wherever she is…she was looking forward to dying, Harry…she knew that she had lived a long life on earth…and I'm sure she passed away without any regrets…she valued the House of Black…and she passed away knowing that there is a Head of House and an Heiress to carry on the line."

"Sirius!" said Harry suddenly, remembering what Cassiopeia had said before she died."She…she said that she knows I'll keep the House of Black safe…why…why did she tell that to me, Sirius? She should have said that to you…I mean, _you _are the Head of the Blacks, aren't you?" said Harry, his brow furrowed in thought, his self-guilt momentarily forgotten.

Sirius let out a strangled exclamation of annoyance. How was he going to explain to Harry that Cassiopeia had said that because she wished for Harry to wed Acquila and have their son become the Head of the Blacks after Sirius' demise?

"You're as good as a son to me, Harry…and she must have known that you are the closest thing to a _male_ heir that I will ever have since I have no intention of ever marrying again," he replied, unconvincingly, hoping Harry would believe what he said.

"No, Sirius…she sounded as if…as if she expected me to…I don't know," mumbled Harry in exasperation, before his eyes blazed again.

"She told me to trust the bond!" he exclaimed as he remembered her words.

"She…What?" sputtered Sirius.

"She told me to trust the bond! What bond, Sirius? What bond did she mean?" Harry asked him in a rather panicked tone, while Sirius hesitated, not wanting to lie to his Godson, but apprehensive about telling him of the soul he shared with Acquila.

"I…you must have heard it wrong, Harry-"

"NO! I am sure she said that I should trust the bond!"

"We'll work out what she meant, Harry…don't you worry," he said, brushing his messy hair off his forehead.

"And she said 'Lewis'," said Harry, though he didn't seem to have put the bond out of his mind.

"Oh," said Sirius; he _had_ expected her dying words to pertain to Lewis.

"Who was he, Sirius?" asked Harry curiously, as he wiped off a faint trickle of a tear that trailed down his face as his cheeks coloured in embarrassment. He hadn't meant to cry! Especially not before Sirius!

"I won't lie to you, Harry. I know who he is …but I can't tell you about it till Acquila and you are older…I will tell you once you are old enough. Is that alright?" asked Sirius, wishing to adhere to Cassiopeia's wishes of not wanting the children to know of her life till they grew old enough to understand the decisions she had made without judging her harshly.

Harry thought for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

"Now…why don't you go back to sleep? I have to make arrangements for the funeral," said Sirius.

"Oh," said Harry, never having been to a funeral before. "Where will she be buried?"

"In the Black Cemetery," replied Sirius. "Now, go off to sleep. You need to rest…"

"I'm not sleepy," mumbled Harry. "I…can I sit by her side…for some time?"

"Okay," said Sirius, suddenly realising that he had left Acquila alone with Cassiopeia's corpse and the wailing house-elf in his haste to calm Harry down.

"Come on," he said, ushering Harry out of the room.

**xxx**

_A few minutes ago,_

Acquila stared at her father as he led a tearful Harry out of the room without even a single glance at Acquila.

"Mopsy's Mistress is no more!" The house-elf continued to shriek aloud before she turned to face the wall and started banging her head on it.

"Mopsy"- thud- "is a ba..bad elf" she stammered amidst her sobs. "Mopsy didn't"-thud- "be with…with"-thud-"her Mis…mistress"- thud- "as Mistress passed away!" she wailed as her head hit the wall at regular intervals.

Acquila stared at the elf in speechless shock, before gathering her wits and rushing to the elf,as she held the elf's tiny shoulders to stop Mospy from hurting herself.

"Stop that, Mopsy!" Acquila screamed as the elf seemed oblivious to her attempts to stop her.

On hearing Acquila's shout, Mopsy stopped in mid-movement, her head inches away from the wall.

"Don't hurt yourself, Mopsy! Stop it at once!" said Acquila firmly, and Mopsy bowed her head in obedience as fat droplets of tears trickled down her face.

"Mopsy is…is a bad elf, Miss Black…" said the elf as she hiccupped, sobbing bitterly.

"Don't cry, Mopsy," said Acquila kindly as she bent down, her face level with the elf's.

But what happened next, startled Acquila, as the elf put her fist into mouth, to stop her sobs from escaping, while she shut her eyes tightly to prevent her tears from falling down; as she struggled to breathe.

"Don't do that!" shouted Acquila, horrified, as the elf started banging her head on the wall again, as a single sob managed to escape her mouth, despite the fist stuffed into it.

Mopsy stopped, her eyes still shut to prevent the flow of tears.

"Take your fist out of your mouth, please!" said Acquila to the elf."And why have you shut your eyes?"

The elf opened a tear-filled eye.

"To stop Mopsy's te…tears from falling as Mistress told Mopsy to…to stop crying…" stuttered the elf.

It took Acquila a moment to realise that the 'Mistress' the elf was referring to, was Acquila herself. With Cassiopeia's death, the elf had passed on to Sirius; and with Acquila being the Heiress of the Blacks, the elf was bound to obey her orders as well.

"No…you may cry, Mopsy," said Acquila, not wanting the elf to choke on her own tears; only to cringe as Mopsy started wailing loudly again.

Acquila looked at the door again; but Sirius and Harry hadn't yet come back.

For an infinitesimal moment, she was rather angry with her father for going off to console Harry, without even a glance to ascertain how Acquila had taken the news of Cassiopeia's death.

But as she looked at the small form of Cassiopeia huddled within her blankets, the thoughts disappeared and she found herself walking towards the deceased witch's bedside.

She grasped Cassiopeia's cold hand in her hands, as tears welled up in her eyes. Since they had moved into the Manor, Acquila had known that Cassiopeia's end was looming in the horizon; but seeing her lying lifeless was a blow nevertheless.

The last of the old generation of the Blacks was dead. And the only Blacks left now, were Acquila and her father.

As her tears flowed freely down her face, she grieved that never again would Cassiopeia tell Harry and her stories of the past; never again would she smile at them proudly on hearing of how Acquila and Harry had managed to throw off the ropes Quirrell hadbinded them with, wandlessly. Never again would she tell Acquila of the childhood of the daughters of the House of Black ranging from a distant ancestor, Lyra Black to Cassiopeia herself.

It was strange, how Acquila had got attached to the older witch, despite mere days of knowing her.

"I'll miss you, Aunt Cassiopeia," she whispered brokenly, as the distraught elf kept wailing in the background.

"We'll miss her too, love," came a voice from behind her.

"Come here," said Sirius as he held out his hands to Acquila, and she walked towards him.

"It's alright, sweetheart," he said, as he enveloped her into a hug, before letting go of her, and wiping off her tears.

"Now, both of you please go and get some sleep. It's just three thirty in the morning…and we have a long day ahead of us," he said to the two black-haired children, who nodded reluctantly.

"And Mopsy?" he addressed the elf whose wails had reduced in volume. "Umm…" he paused, not really knowing what to say to the elf. He had never really liked the elves who served the Blacks, especially Kreacher. But Mopsy seemed to be quite a good and kind elf.

"Why don't you take the day off work today, Mopsy?" he said to the elf kindly, thinking that she would like that, rather than spending the day working.

"Noooo!" Mopsy let out a high-pitched wail. "Is Master angry with Mopsy? Master doesn't want Mopsy anymore!" she sobbed.

"What!" gasped Sirius in surprise, as Harry gaped at the scene, while Acquila, who had expected this response from the elf, merely sighed.

"No, Mopsy! I just thought you would like to mourn Aunt Cassiopeia in peace, rather than working all day!" he clarified.

"Master…master thought of what Mopsy would like?" the elf sputtered in surprise.

"Err…yes," replied Sirius hesitantly, only to wince as the elf started crying again.

"Why are you crying now, Mopsy?" asked Acquila in defeat.

"Mopsy is crying because…because she has a good Master who thinks of what Mopsy would like…" replied the elf in between sobs.

"Alright," said Sirius, thankful that she was shedding tears of joy than grief.

"Now go to sleep you two; and Mopsy, off you go as well," said Sirius, and the three of them went off.

After sending off a quick note to Narcissa informing her of Cassiopeia's demise, Sirius hesitantly extended a hand towards the drawer on the table beside Cassiopeia's bed. He found the parchment right on top of the books within the drawer, and his eyes widened as he took in the handwriting on the parchment.

It wasn't Cassiopeia's. Most Blacks wrote in a typical handwriting; and the writing on the parchment definitely wasn't the deceased lady's.

But then, he spotted an ornate self-writing quill on beside one of the books; and he realised that with Cassiopeia having been too frail and weak to write herself, she had used the self-writing quill to put down her thoughts. He saw that the letter had been dated the previous day. And he realised that she had probably written it last night itself after their conversation about Lewis.

_Dear Sirius,_

_I must admit to you that I feel much relieved after having shared the story of my life with you, especially when I am certain that I won't live to see the coming sunrise. But I am glad to be leaving the world surrounded by my family._

_The document containing my will lies below the books in the drawer, and I want you to read the will in the presence of Narcissa, Draco, Harry, Acquila and Nymphadora Tonks._

_You will notice that I have bequeathed to Harry, a property in house lies in a Muggle area and had been purchased by Lewis for us to live in. He had hoped that we would live there and begin a family…but as you know, none of that could occur. After Lewis' death, the house passed on to his younger brother as per Muggle laws, and I bought it from him under a fake name, a few years ago. _

_I want you to tell Harry about it all when he grows up. And though I won't live long enough to see Harry and Acquila happily living with a family of their own, I pray that they get all the happiness and joy that they deserve; and that their story sees a happier ending than mine did._

_I know that Harry will more likely than not, face dangers which might challenge his safety and his life; but I know that you will do a good job of defending him against them. And I hope you will tell the children of the Bond as soon as you can._

_I depart knowing that the House of Black is in your hands; and I know that though you do not put much stock in being a Black, but you will keep all the present, the future and the former Blacks safe._

_And remember, Sirius, that the powers above grant us only one life. And I would rather see you living your life afresh with a woman who loves you, rather than living a life of loneliness, mourning the loss of the one you loved, like I did. I would not want you to live the rest of your life alone, Sirius. Of all the Blacks I have known, you are probably the one who deserves to be loved the most. _

_Your loving Great-Aunt,_

_Cassiopeia Black_

_P.S. - I would want Andromeda and her daughter to be present at my funeral._

Sirius re-read the letter, before placing it back in its place. He then picked up the two sheets of parchment which lay beneath the books.

One was Cassiopeia's will, and he decided to read it directly before the others. While, the other parchment, contained the address of a Muggle graveyard- the one where Cassiopeia wanted to be buried in secret.

He took one last look at her corpse lying on the bed, before shaking off the thoughts of what she had mentioned about the Bond, and about him finding love again. And then, he walked out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him, as he pondered over the woman they had lost.

**xxx**

"She's at peace now, Cissy," said Sirius, as Narcissa came out of Cassiopeia's room an hour later, dabbing at her moist eyes. A red-eyed Draco had already come, and left; and Sirius had been rather pleased to see that the Malfoy brat did seem to have a heart, unlike his father, whom Sirius knew would never have mourned the loss of anyone.

"I know that. But I've had to bury three Blacks in the past two years...with Bella and you in Azkaban, I was the only one left to arrange the funerals...and...it's strange thinking that I won't be getting the weekly letter from Aunt Cassiopeia... that I won't be coming here to visit her..."

Sirius said nothing in reply. Though he was upset at losing Cassiopeia- especially when he had just started getting to know her better- he knew that Narcissa's grief was far greater, since she was the one who had known Cassiopeia more intimately over the years.

"You'll make the arrangements for the funeral, won't you?" she asked him suddenly.

"Of course I will. We'll hold the funeral today itself."

"There are a lot of arrangements to be made, Sirius," she said softly, knowing that he probably knew very little about pure-blood funerals, as he hadn't been to a Black funeral since he had been disowned.

"I'm sure Mopsy and Andy will-"

"Andromeda?" cut in Narcissa sharply, the word feeling foreign on her tongue after years of having referred to her as just the blood-traitor.

"Yes, of course. Andromeda will be present for the funeral. She may have been disowned, but she is a daughter of the House of Black. And as the Head of House, I deem it more than acceptable for Andy to be present," he responded, knowing that Cassiopeia had specifically asked for her to be present. And having Andromeda there would send a message to all those who thought that Sirius would walk down the path of the previous Blacks. Sirius was now the Head of House, and him welcoming Andromeda back to the Black fold would let everyone know that Sirius didn't believe in blood-treachery and anti-Muggle beliefs.

Narcissa stared at him for a long moment, before nodding.

"I hope you know that most pure-blood families who are related to us, will be attending the funeral. The Flints, Crabbes, the Bulstrode family, the Macmillans, Crouch-"

"No," cut in Sirius. "Not Barty Crouch," he spat out the name. Never would the man, who had condemned Sirius to a life sentence in Azkaban without a trial, step onto Sirius' property.

"But, Sirius, he is related to us. And his wife was friends with Aunt Cassiopeia. I am sure-"

"She was friends with his wife, not Barty Crouch!" he retorted defiantly.

"But-"

"Look, Narcissa," interjected Sirius. "You know as well as I do, that if I had my way, I would have conducted the funeral with only Andy's family, the kids, you and your son, and me present," he said bluntly, as Narcissa noticed that he hadn't mentioned Lucius.

"But I'm agreeing to have all these people present, though most of them were followers of Voldemort, only because Aunt Cassiopeia stood by the Black customs, and she would have wanted the majority of the people you mentioned to be present ... But I will not have Barty Crouch anywhere around me at any rate. I would have said the same for your husband as well-"

"Lucius will be coming, Sirius," she cut in firmly.

Sirius nodded reluctantly, before hesitating slightly before asking.

"Did...did he hurt you again, Cissy?" All the sharpness suddenly gone from his voice.

Narcissa stiffened before inclining her head sideways to signal that the answer was in the negative.

"You know that you can ask for an annulment, don't you?" said Sirius.

"And you know that I will never do that," she replied succinctly.

"I just don't understand you, Narcissa," he sighed in defeat. "You seem to care for my daughter; you act against your own husband to help me and my godson; and you know that you probably deserve much better a man than Lucius is. Why would you want to-"

"Lucius may not be the best of men," she cut in. "But till _that_ day, he had never hurt me in any manner. And we may not have had a relationship based on love like your wife and you had; but I have come to love him, Sirius. And he's my husband, the father of my only son. I couldn't possibly want an annulment-"

"Did you forget to mention a couple of points, Narcissa? Like how getting an annulment would subject you to ridicule in pure-blood circles? And how Malfoy would get custody of your son if you press for an annulment?" asked Sirius shrewdly.

Narcissa bristled angrily, before she schooled her features into her usual expressionless mask.

"You do not need to concern yourself with the reasoning behind my decisions, cousin. Now I take your leave. My husband and Draco must be awaiting me. I will see you at the funeral," was all she said, before she disappeared through the fireplace.

"Damn you, Cissy," muttered Sirius under his breath.

Narcissa would have been much better off if she hadn't been a typical Black. Sirius knew that if Narcissa had her marriage annulled, Lucius would get custody of Draco, as Draco was the only male heir to the Malfoy line. And though being a parent, he understood Narcissa's decision of wanting to stay with Lucius to avoid getting separated from her only son; he couldn't see why she would want to live in a violent marriage.

Narcissa did claim to love Lucius, but Sirius knew that she deserved far better than a dominating husband. Though an annulment would garner ridicule in society, Narcissa had every chance of settling down with a man who loved her. The Blacks were highly valued in the matrimonial market. And Narcissa would certainly beget numerable marriage proposals. She could probably get a chance at true love, and happiness. Sirius could even try to use his clout as the Black Head of House to ensure that Narcissa got visiting rights to her son, after an annulment.

But if Narcissa did not want to leave Lucius, Sirius couldn't force her. It was her life, and her decision. If it had been Andromeda and Ted instead of Narcissa and Lucius, Ted Tonks would probably have been in the Hospital Wing right now after Sirius had been done hexing him for having dared to hurt his cousin.

But though Narcissa had helped Sirius, he was nowhere close to her as he was to Andy. He hadn't forgotten how Narcissa had been one of the many people to alienate him after he had been disowned. And though she wasn't a death-eater herself, Narcissa had never spoken out against her husband's loyalties. If Narcissa asked him for help, he would help her in a heartbeat. But till then, all he could do was to wait and watch how the Malfoy saga panned out.

**xxx**

It was late evening, when Sirius walked into the Cemetery belonging to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, with Acquila and Harry on either side of him. His eyes fell over the crowd that had already been seated in the chairs that Mopsy had laid out in the open grassy expanse of land in a corner of the Cemetery, where most funerals were held. Some of the people stood up to acknowledge Sirius' arrival; he even saw some of the shorter people stand on their tip-toes to catch a clearer glimpse of his now-acquitted self, and he subdued the urge to roll his eyes in annoyance.

He groaned inaudibly as he saw a lot of people looking at him and his children in awe. He hated this! This was exactly why he had hated the very idea of growing up and becoming the Head of House when he was young. He had always disliked the pure-blood customs. And he had been glad when he had been disowned as it meant that he was finally free of all the trappings of the pure-blood world. He had gladly passed on the mantle of being the Heir to the House of Black to Regulus. And Sirius knew that Regulus would have made a far better Head of House than Sirius could ever become. But fate had had something else in store for him; and here he was now, smiling politely at Madame Aurora Bulstrode, who peered at him curiously through her thick glasses. He caught sight of a lot of known faces; some of the people inclined their heads at him in respectful acknowledgement, while some of them- the former death-eaters- had a polite smile on their faces, though Sirius could almost feel the hateful vibes emanating from them.

He knew that after the funeral was over, he would be expected to accept the condolences of all the people gathered there with polite gratitude; though he would have liked nothing better than to hex people like Crabbe. He had a sudden urge to transform into his canine form, and sprint away through the lush green grasses bordering the property on which the Cemetery stood, and get away from all the formalities and duties which came along with being the Head of the Blacks. But he knew that he owed it to Cassiopeia, to behave like a well-mannered Black.

Every single person was dressed in black robes, and Sirius was reminded rather strongly of Voldemort's black-clad followers. He noticed most of the people gasp in surprise as their eyes fell on the black-haired bespectacled boy walking beside Sirius. Very few people had known that Sirius was Harry's godfather, and even fewer people knew that Harry had now begun living with his Godfather, since Sirius had stopped Fudge from printing the news report.

He felt Harry hesitate slightly, probably on spotting the amount of eye-balls he was attracting; and he put a hand on his shoulder, while he held Acquila's hand with his other hand. He led the two children to their seats, and then sat down in the seat next to Acquila's, which was reserved for the Head of the Blacks.

He looked at the glass coffin which lay in front of them, beyond the graves of Cygnus Black II and Violetta Bulstrode-Black, Cassiopeia's parents. Cassiopeia's body had been dressed in the costliest of cobalt blue robes- the colour of which made her pale face stand out. He heard Acquila stifle a sob, and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Though it pained him to see his daughter cry, he was glad that Acquila wasn't like the other daughters of his House who preferred hiding their emotions beneath an impassive mask- like Narcissa, and Andromeda before she got married to Ted. He then looked at Harry, and saw that his green eyes contained the most somber expression he had ever seen. And that Harry's right hand lay grasped within Acquila's left one. And though he rather disliked that, because it reminded him of the Bond, and that his daughter seemed to be growing up sooner than he wanted her to; it gladdened his heart to see that the two children were united in not only happy times, but sorrowful ones as well.

As Narcissa walked up to the front, to speak about her deceased great-aunt, Sirius cast a surreptitious glance around, to ensure that no pesky reporters had managed to sneak into the Cemetery. It had been Mopsy, who had informed him of the swarm of reporters which had gathered outside the Cemetery to catch a glimpse of Sirius Black, and cover the death of one of the three last Blacks left. And the elf, along with a little help from Ted, had cast spells to prevent any uninvited people from coming in.

As Narcissa began speaking about her Aunt, Sirius looked up at the sky, noticing that it was a pleasant shade of blue- which had been the very colour of Athena's irises. And the remembrance of the fact that he hadn't even been able to be present for his wife's funeral hit him harder than it ever had before. Many people thought that Sirius Black was a courageous person, but Sirius alone knew that his famed courage failed him when it came to accepting the deaths of his near and dear ones. And that was exactly why he had still not been to visit the graves of Athena, James and Lily. Even thinking of their cold bodies lying beneath tombstones sent an involuntary shudder through his entire being. He hadn't even been able to deal well with the memories that the visit to Potter Manor had brought. How would he ever gather the courage and fortitude to see his beloved Athena's grave? How would he even be able to shake off the acute desire of wanting to lie beneath the ground with Athena, than live a life without her presence- a desire which he knew did dwell in the deepest bottom of his heart, despite knowing that he had two children to take care of. Never had he even been able to imagine a life without Athena. A decade ago, he would have thought of his life in his thirties to be filled with the joys of dropping Acquila to Kings' Cross station, teaching Quidditch in the backyard to their son, and being happily engaged in living a life with Athena. He had thought of his children, Jamie's children and Remmy's children- if he had managed to settle down with someone- playing together in the backyard of Potter Manor. Prongs and he would have probably taught their kids some Marauder tricks, with Remmy, Athena and Lily trying to stop them from tutoring the next generation of Marauders. But a decade ago if he knew what was in store for his future, he would still gladly have exchanged his future hopes and plans just for a chance to spend time with Athena. He would gladly have spent another year in Azkaban in exchange for one chance to talk to her, to see her, to tell her how much he loved her. He remembered the very last time he saw her; she had insisted on coming with him to Godric's Hollow. But he had refused, and told her to stay put at their house with Acquila. And all that he had done before bidding her goodbye was given her a kiss, and told her to take care. He even remembered the very last image of her that had been engraved in the eyes of his mind- Athena, as she stood looking at him, with a crying Acquila in her hand. Athena's blue eyes had contained a strange fear- fear for not only James and Lily, but for Sirius as well- and hope- hope that Sirius would be back to her safely. He even remembered what she had told him a few days ago- that she thought she was pregnant again. But he wouldn't think of that now! He just couldn't. Losing his wife was a big enough loss. He didn't even want to think of the possibility that he had lost a son or daughter as well, along with his wife. The thought of the possible pregnancy was one that he had tried to hide within the deepest recesses of his mind- never to be thought over again, never to be confided in someone else. His daughter had already had enough sorrows and losses in her young life, for him to tell her that she had probably lost a younger sibling as well. And he was glad that Athena hadn't performed the spell to confirm the pregnancy; because he couldn't think of having lost another member of his family- one who hadn't even got the chance to take its very first breath in the world beyond his mother's womb.

"Dad!" he heard Acquila whisper to him, as she nudged him slightly.

"Huh?" he mumbled, realising that he had been lost in his thoughts.

"Aunt Narcissa is calling you!" Acquila whispered urgently, and it was then that Sirius realised that Narcissa had finished with the eulogy, and was looking at him expectantly. He berated himself harshly, as he stood up- hating himself for having not paid attention to what Narcissa had been saying about Cassiopeia, for not having given his Aunt the respect she deserved by listening to the eulogy. But deep within, he knew that Cassiopeia would have forgiven him for not having paid attention- after all, who knew better than she did of how it was to lose the one person you loved with all your heart?

He walked towards Narcissa, his wand in hand; as he took one last glance at the frail old face, which suddenly seemed radiant, as a flicker of the receding sunlight fell on it.

"Shall we?" said Narcissa, as she held her wand aloft. Sirius nodded, but then stopped in the process of pointing his wand towards the coffin.

"Andy?" he called out softly to Andromeda, who sat next to Ted and Nymphie in the second row of chairs.

Andromeda looked at him in surprise, before standing up and walking towards him; her head held high despite the murmurs and whispers which spread through the gathered crowd.

Andromeda hesitantly took out her wand from her black robes and stood beside Sirius. Andromeda very rarely wore black, and if it wasn't for the kindness in her eyes, Sirius knew that she would have looked just like Bellatrix.

The three Blacks- the only three remaining out of the five cousins, on whom Pollux and Arcturus had pinned their hopes of taking the Black family to hitherto unseen heights- pointed their wands towards the coffin and whispered the spell in unison. And tall white flames erupted from all sides of the coffin, hiding it from view; as Sirius heard a gasp of astonishment, which he knew had come from either Harry or Acquila- both of whom had never attended a wizarding funeral before.

The pale-white flames rose higher and higher into the sky, standing out in the quickly darkening shades of the sky; and a moment later, the flames disappeared, and all that remained was a white marble tomb, which had encased the coffin containing Cassiopeia.

As Narcissa and Andromeda went back to their seats, Narcissa dabbing at her eyes again; Sirius stood tall at the foot of the tomb. He pointed his wand at the white marble, and graceful cursive alphabets started getting engraved onto the marble.

Once the words were written, he glanced at his handiwork; as the assembled people started standing up to walk towards the tomb, some of them with wreaths and bouquets in their hands.

Harry read the dark golden letters which Sirius had engraved on the marble:

**_Cassiopeia Ursula Black_**

**_11th January, 1915 – 21st July, 1992_**

**_Her soul, spreading light, like a star_**

**_Shines from the abode where the eternal are_**

"Come on, Harry," whispered Acquila as she took his hand, and they walked towards the tomb. Sirius conjured two wreaths of roses; which they each laid on the tomb, before walking away, so that the other assembled people could do the same.

"I want both of you to be here with Mopsy," said Sirius firmly as the teary-eyed elf apparated and stood beside them. "Don't go anywhere, unless it's with Andy, Ted or Nymphie," he continued firmly, as they stood in a corner.

"But…we're not kids, Dad-" started Acquila, but Sirius cut her off with a look.

"Most people here are followers of Voldemort. And I don't want any of them to even try to harm Harry. Now have I made myself clear?" he asked her in a stern whisper.

"Yes," muttered Acquila, as Harry nodded.

"Where are you going?" he asked Sirius, as he made to walk away.

"To be a proper Head of House- accept condolences, indulge in idle chatter and the like," replied Sirius with an irritated groan, as Harry smiled at him sympathetically.

In the few days that he had known his godfather, Harry had realised that Sirius disliked the formal pure-blood customs. Sirius had even told him that noon that he found Muggle funerals a lot better than the wizarding ones. Sirius had apparently attended the funeral of Harry's maternal grandparents, who had perished in a car crash. And Harry had wondered how Aunt Petunia had allowed magical people to attend her parents' funeral. Lily had probably insisted on having her way.

As he saw the throng of people around him, he wondered how his own parents' funeral had been. Who would have been present to mourn the deaths of James and Lily Potter with Sirius in prison and Athena dead? Remus had probably been the only one who had arranged for the burial, the only one who had been there to grieve for his parents. There were at least a hundred people present currently for Cassiopiea's funeral. Had even half that number been there for his parents, who gave their lives to protect not only him, but all of wizarding Britain?

"What are you thinking, Harry?" Acquila's gentle voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"I was just thinking about my parents," he replied softly.

"About their funeral?" asked Acquila, as Harry gaped at her.

"How did you know?"

"How could _I _not know, Harry?" she smiled. "Sometimes, I feel I know what you are thinking-"

"You do?"

"Just sometimes…but that's not the point…tell me what's bothering you," she responded.

"I want to visit…their graves…I mean…that'll…I don't know…I just want to see them…" he mumbled vaguely.

"Why don't you tell Dad about it when we go back to the Manor? I'm sure he'll take you to visit their graves…"

"I miss them, you know…I don't know why I've been thinking of them this often since… they," he paused suddenly, as his hand rushed to his hair in a rather James-like way.

"I'm sorry…I never thought…you must have thought of your mum too, mustn't you?" he asked her sheepishly, suddenly realising that Acquila too had lost a parent.

"I didn't really…I mean I do wonder about how life would have been if she was alive…but…but I'm happy that I at least have Dad…" she replied a tad awkwardly. "But you know that Dad loves you too, don't you?" she asked him.

"Yes," replied Harry with a smile, before brushing off a beetle which had settled on Acquila's shoulder. The beetle hovered a few inches above them, before settling down on Acquila's shoulder again, till Harry brushed it off, and it fell down onto the ground, apparently injured.

His eyes then wandered to the man in question. Sirius stood talking to an aged witch, with a rather fake, polite grin plastered onto his face. Sirius' eyes met Harry's and the corners of his mouth twitched into a genuine smile, before he went back to talking to the witch.

"Good evening, dearies," A sweet feminine voice diverted Harry's attention from Sirius to the source of the voice.

"Good evening," replied Acquila politely, though from her tone, Harry thought that Acquila didn't like the bearer of the voice much.

"Hello, Mister Potter," said the lady to Harry, and Harry returned the greeting. The lady before them seemed rather beautiful to Harry. Her golden-blonde curls framed her delicate face in a very pretty manner, and her eyes were the most unique shade of blue that he had ever seen.

"I'm sure you remember Narcissa introducing me to you at the ball given in your honour, Miss Black," said the lady to Acquila, who replied in the affirmative.

"I do remember you, Miss Flint," replied Acquila sweetly, though Harry saw her eyes gaining a cold glint. Miss Flint! This was the Nigella Flint who had been offered to Sirius in marriage! Harry's eyes went wide at the realisation.

"Oh, you may call me Nigella, darling!" The lady smiled dazzlingly at Acquila, who said nothing in reply, though the coldness in her grey orbs increased two-fold.

"And you, my dear! I can't tell you how glad I am to meet you! The great Harry Potter! And you're Sirius' godson, aren't you?"

"Uh…yes…" replied Harry rather shyly, having never liked people referring to his supposed greatness.

"I have to go to pay my respects to Cassiopeia now; but I do hope that I will see both of you quite often in future," she smiled at them again, before gracefully walking away- gliding rather than walking.

Just as Harry was about to say something to Acquila about Nigella Flint; he saw the lady's nephew walk towards them.

"Acquila Black!" exclaimed Marcus Flint, as he rather theatrically grasped Acquila's hand and kissed her knuckles. Harry bristled angrily at the Slytherin Quidditch captain, before Acquila coolly snatched her hand back, and said, "Which century do you live in, Marcus?"

"A beautiful lady deserves to be treated well, Acquila, irrespective of the year," replied Flint, as he smiled what seemed like an evil smirk at Acquila.

"Harry! I think Dora's calling us!" said Acquila suddenly, and with a falsely apologetic smile at Marcus, she dragged Harry with her to another corner of the ground, with the house-elf following them with entreaties to stay where Sirius had told them to.

"I hate him! Stupid Slytherin!" grumbled Harry as Acquila chuckled.

"I don't like him much as well, especially since he tried to knock you off your broom. He had wanted to dance with me at the Ball at Malfoy Manor, but-"

"But I danced with you, instead!" came a familiar voice from behind them.

"Draco!" said Acquila happily, as he went forward and hugged him; while he sent a smug smirk in Harry's direction. Harry rolled his eyes and looked away. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Draco's smirks and sneers.

"You didn't tell anyone about what I told you that day, did you?" Harry heard Draco whisper to Acquila and his head swiveled in their direction, and his eyes met Draco's.

"We'll be back, Potter," Draco spat at Harry, as he grabbed Acquila's hand and pulled her a bit farther away from him, as Harry began wondering what it was that Draco had told Acquila which she hadn't told Harry yet.

"Master Potter! Master told Mopsy not to leave Master Potter and Mistress Black alone! Come on, Master Potter!" said the elf as she attempted to follow Acquila, but Harry told her to stop.

"It's alright, Mopsy. She'll be back within minutes," he told the elf, who nodded and stood beside Harry.

Harry looked at Draco, who had a sad expression on his face. He was probably thinking of Cassiopeia, who Harry had realised had been quite close to Draco.

As Harry looked away, not liking to see Draco with Acquila, his eyes fell on the older version of Draco, who walked towards Sirius.

Sirius, who had seen Lucius Malfoy approaching him, had an impassive face, but even from afar, Harry could see his grey eyes blaze with extreme anger. He even saw Sirius' fingers clench even tighter around his wand, as if Sirius was barely controlling himself from wanting to hex Malfoy.

Though Harry couldn't hear them, he saw Lucius say something to Sirius with a menacing smile on his pale face, which Sirius returned with equal malice. Lucius seemed to be about to say something nasty to Sirius, but he saw Narcissa walk up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Lucius almost seemed as if he wanted to shrug off his wife's hand, before he smiled evilly at Sirius again, while he said something from within gritted teeth.

A moment later, Harry saw Sirius suddenly raise his wand at Lucius, before Andromeda, who was standing a little distance away, said something to Sirius and he calmed down and replied to Malfoy, before Narcissa linked her arm with her husband's and ushered Lucius away.

"Calm down, Siri," was what Andromeda seemed to have said to Sirius, as she clasped his hand and pressed a kiss on his cheek, before walking back to Ted.

"Harry! Harry!" he felt Acquila snapping her fingers before his eyes to grab his attention.

"Huh?" he responded absently, before finally wrenching his eyes away from Sirius and training them on Acquila.

"Finished talking to Malfoy, did you?" he asked her sarcastically.

"Yes, Harry; and you don't need to use that tone when you mention Draco. He has got problems of his own, you know!" she retorted, as Harry snorted. What problems could a spoilt brat like Malfoy face?

"Look! That's Ernie Macmillan!" exclaimed Acquila, as the rather pompous Hufflepuff walked towards them, closely followed by Lavender Brown, and Harry and Acquila got immersed in talking to their classmates.

Meanwhile, Sirius sighed inwardly as he saw the recently-widowed Elia Yaxley, the girl who had been once betrothed to him, coming towards him.

"Sirius Black!" exclaimed the witch as she smiled what she had probably intended to be a seductive smile at Sirius.

"Hello," replied Sirius blandly, making it more than clear that he had no wish to talk to the lady.

"How have you been, Sirius? I heard that Harry Potter is your godson, and he's living with you as well. Are you sure you can manage looking after two little kids with no loving wife by your side? I'm sure you remember that we had once been betrothed to each other; along with the news of my recent bereavement. I am single now, you know, with my husband having passed away. We could always renew the betrothal and-"

"I though you were here to offer your condolences on my bereavement on the passing away of my great-aunt," cut in Sirius pointedly. "The only people whose presence I wish for today, is those who cared for, and loved Aunt Cassiopeia. And if you aren't a part of those, you may leave right now!"

"I…I didn't…" sputtered the witch, before another pointed glare from Sirius made her walk away.

Sirius sighed. This was exactly what he hadn't wanted- dealing with pure-blood witches wanting to marry him for his wealth and title. Three families had tried to talk him into meeting a daughter of their House with marriage in mind. Aurora Bulstrode had first spoken to Sirius about how she would miss Cassiopeia, who had been her childhood friend. But then, even she had spoken of wanting Sirius to wed her granddaughter, who was just a year old than Nymphie, for Merlin's sake! Even William Flint had reiterated his wish for wanting Sirius to marry his sister. Sirius had even seen William's son, Marcus talking to Acquila, and he was sure that the Flints had a double-betrothal in mind. While Hermes Belby, who had been stupid enough to suggest a betrothal between his nephew and Acquila, had been hit with a vomiting hex, which had caused him to rush back home. Acquila was not even twelve yet, and even if it wasn't for the bond with Harry, Sirius would never ever have forced a betrothal on his only daughter. He would try his best to keep in confirmation with some pure-blood traditions on days like this one, he would never confirm to those customs which would affect the lives of his children, especially something like having them married against their will.

Sirius smiled as he spotted Ivy Brown coming towards him. He remembered Cassiopeia telling him that Ivy Brown had been one of her closest friends, despite her being a Gryffindor, and of a lower pure-blood pedigree than the Blacks.

"Hello, Mister Black," said the white-haired, old lady.

"Hello, Mrs. Brown," smiled Sirius.

"Did Cassy pass away peacefully, Mister Black? I met her last a couple of weeks ago. And she was hoping that you would come to stay at the Manor with your children, in her last remaining days," said the witch sorrowfully.

"She did. And I think she's at peace now," he replied.

"I will miss her tremendously," sighed Ivy Brown, as she wiped off a tear which slipped down her eye.

Sirius nodded, before he glanced around to look for Harry and Acquila. He had noticed Acquila talking to Draco, but he trusted Mopsy to apparate away with the children if there was even the slightest hint of risk.

"Looking for your daughter and godson, are you?" asked Ivy. "They're with my granddaughter, Lavender and the Macmillan boy," she continued, gesturing towards the four children who stood talking and laughing in a corner.

Sirius smiled involuntarily as he saw Harry smiling heartily at something that Acquila said- Jamie's smile.

"I know that you'll make a good father, Mister Black; more like Charlus than Orion," Ivy smiled before going to Cassioepeia's tomb; and though those words came from someone who was relatively a stranger to him, Sirius felt happy at her confidence in his parenting abilities. He knew he wouldn't be the best parent on earth- he was a little too short-tempered for that, and lacked parenting experience. But he knew that he would do his best to provide Harry and Acquila with all the love that they needed and deserved.

**xxx**

"Mum! I'm going to Black Manor!" Nymphadora called out to her mother an hour after they had returned home from the Cemetery. Though Nymphadora had wanted to return back home sooner, Andromeda- who had visited the Cemetery after almost two decades- had insisted on looking around some of the tombs, along with telling a very bored Nymphadora, the Black family history. And thus, it had been quite late by the time they returned home for a late dinner.

"Black Manor? Why?" asked Andromeda as she entered the room and then glanced at the Muggle clock on the wall."Have you seen the time, Nymphadora? Harry and Acquila must have slept already-"

"Sirius had floo-called, Mum...said he wants me to go there right now," replied Nymphadora, as she picked up a pinch of floo powder from the jar on the mantelpiece.

"Bye, Mum!"

"Goodbye, Nymphadora!" She heard her mother reply, and grumbled on hearing the mention of her name. She then stumbled in through the fireplace, turning red in the face as she saw five people looking right at her, including Draco Malfoy who smirked at her clumsiness. She rolled her eyes at him, before looking at Narcissa, who eyed her Muggle attire with distaste.

"Hey, Sirius!" she greeted Sirius, who seemed to carry himself with a strangely imposing poise, in his robes with the Black family crest on them.

"Hi, Nymphie," he responded. "Sit down; we were waiting for you to come."

Nymphadora plopped down onto a chair, before throwing a wink at Acquila and Harry, who were sitting next to each other. Nymphadora noticed that Harry seemed much better than he did during the funeral.

"I've called you all here to read out Aunt Cassiopeia's will," said Sirius.

The Ministry could examine the wills of a deceased witch or wizard under the Decree for Justifiable Confiscation, but Sirius knew that Fudge had probably passed over the process to get into Sirius' good books.

Nymphadora looked at him quizzically. Why had Sirius called her there? Cassiopeia couldn't have left something for her in the will, could she? The one and only time that she had met Cassiopeia, the older witch had behaved quite curtly with her.

Sirius sat up straighter, before summoning a small ornate wooden jewellery chest towards him.

"The Last Will and Testament of Cassiopeia Ursula Black, Daughter of the House of Black," read out Sirius in a formal baritone, sounding more like the Head of House than he ever had.

"I declare that I make the following bequests of my own free will and that I have been of sane mind while doing so. To Narcissa Lucretia Malfoy, I leave the goblin-wrought tiara that has been traditionally passed on to the eldest daughter of the Blacks, for having cared for me as a daughter would have."

Sirius opened the wooden chest and took out a tiara from it, before handing it to Narcissa who took it with slightly trembling hands.

She stared at the tiara, as the emeralds on them glittered in the glow of the chandeliers above. She had always secretly desired the tiara, since the very first time she had seen Cassiopeia wearing it at a Christmas Ball, but she had known that it would be passed down to Bellatrix, and then Acquila. But it was a measure of how much Narcissa had meant to Cassiopeia that the deceased witch had broken tradition to give the tiara to her instead of Acquila. Sirius watched Narcissa as her usually cold eyes glistened with emotion. But then, he saw a smug smile grace her features for an infinitesimal moment, little knowing that she was thinking of the tiara being passed down to Acquila anyway, when she would marry Draco.

"To Draco Lucius Malfoy," Sirius continued, subduing his bewilderment at her momentary smile, "I leave the pocket watch that was rumoured to have been a possession of Salazar Slytherin, along with my blessings and gratitude for having given me the joy of being a grandmother to him and in the hope that he will use the watch on his seventeenth birthday."

Sirius opened the chest again, and after retrieving the pocket watch from it, he gave it to Draco, who held it almost reverentially; his silver-grey eyes sparkling with joy.

"Did this...did this really belong to Slytherin, Mother?" he asked Narcissa in an awed tone, while he admired the intricate snakes which were engraved in the platinum dial of the watch.

"It is rumoured to have belonged to him. Phineas Nigellus bought it from a descendant of the Slytherin family...the Gaunts, I think," replied Narcissa.

Draco smirked triumphantly at Harry, who just shrugged at him. Harry would rather receive nothing than something that belonged to Salazar Slytherin of all people.

"To Acquila Dorea Black, I leave all my books, which I collected over the years from various parts of the world, in the hope that they will aid her in furthering her quest for knowledge. It is said that a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies and a non reader just one. I am sure these books will aid you to find whatever you desire to know." read out Sirius, as Acquila smiled, while Draco had an astonished expression on his face.

Cassiopeia had left only a library full of books to the Heiress of the Blacks? Admittedly, all of Sirius' wealth would belong to Acquila one day; but bequeathing Acquila mere books when Draco and his mother had received such priceless heirlooms seemed completely unfair to Draco.

"To Nymphadora Catherine Tonks," continued Sirius, and Draco's raised eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline, while Nymphadora stared at Sirius with a flabbergasted look. "I leave a yearly sum of three thousand galleons, which is to be paid to the aforementioned Nymphadora from my own vault at Gringotts till such time as she survives-"

"Are you sure you read that correctly, Siri?" gasped Nymphadora; her face had turned pale, and her hair was a strange shade of yellow.

"I did read it correctly, Nymphie,"grinned Sirius, knowing that three thousand galleons a year was a massive sum.

"But...but it's a lot! And the money rightfully belongs to you, Sirius! And Acquila as well! I don't need-"

"Nymphie," cut in Sirius, "There's enough money in the Black vaults for even Acquila's grandchildren to live in luxury. And the interest the goblins pay me yearly will more than cover up the amount-"

"But this isn't-"

"Calm down, Nymphie. If Aunt Cassiopeia left you money, she must obviously have had her reasons behind it. And the Will also states that any children born of you, will be entitled to the annuity to be paid to you, in case of your untimely demise before any of your children reach majority," said Sirius; though his forehead creased slightly with worry.

Why had Cassiopeia made such a strange provision?

Nymphadora was a healthy girl, and with obstetrical knowledge having advanced in the magical world, there were almost negligible chances of Nymphadora dying while giving birth, unlike the earlier ages where mortality rates among expecting witches were high. Why then had Cassiopeia made such a provision? Was she hinting at something through her bequest? But Cassiopeia surely wasn't a Seer. There hadn't been a Seer in the Black family since the 1400s. Why then had Cassiopeia made that specific provision? Perhaps Sirius was reading too much into the will. Or perhaps, Sirius needed to keep a close eye on Nymphadora to protect her from danger.

"Dad?"

"Sirius?"

Two feminine voices brought him out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry. I was lost in thought. Let's carry on with the will," he said, looking into the will again.

"To Harry James Potter, I leave my property at Kent, in the hope that it will give him shelter when he needs it most-"

"This is just not done! How can she-" Draco snapped his mouth shut at the warning look on Sirius' face.

"Aunt Cassiopeia has bequeathed her belongings as she deemed correct. Are you trying to question her judgment, Malfoy?" asked Sirius.

"No…I…I dint mean that…but Potter and Tonks-"

"Draco," said Narcissa calmly, and the blonde-haired boy said no more, though he was inwardly seething with anger.

How could Cassiopeia have granted an annuity to Tonks, and a property to Potter, with Acquila getting only a library full of worthless books?

"Sirius?" said Narcissa. "Have you read the will correctly? Because I do not recollect either Aunt Cassiopeia or any of the Blacks having property in Kent, which hardly has any wizarding population, and is primarily a Muggle-inhabited province!"

"Even Grimmauld Place is in London, moreover in a Muggle building, Cissy. So you don't need to-"

"But why would she buy a property in Kent?" persisted Narcissa.

"Don't ask me to fathom how the mind of a lady, who is no more alive, worked, Cissy," sighed Sirius as Narcissa nodded, though she continued looking at Sirius suspiciously.

"Do I continue with the Will now?"

"Of course."

"And to Sirius Orion Black, I leave all the rest of the gold in my vault, my worldly belongings, Black Manor, and my devoted House-elf Mopsy; in the hope that he will ensure the continuity of the House of Black till eternity, through the line of his daughter, Acquila Black," completed Sirius.

Narcissa stared at him with an unreadable expression in her eyes. The Will didn't seem as if it had been made by Cassiopeia at all! The Cassiopeia Black she had known for the past decade, would never have left money to Andromeda's half-blood brat; nor would she have purchased a property in Kent, without anyone even knowing of its existence. And telling Sirius to ensure that it would be Acquila's heirs that would carry on the Black line? That was completely unlike Cassiopeia, who had time and again reiterated her wish for male heirs to carry on the family name.

Why had Cassiopeia made such strange provisions in her Will? Narcissa knew that the Will couldn't have been tampered with, because of the charms that prevented a magical Will from being tampered.

Narcissa stood up, as Draco followed her actions.

"Thank you, Sirius," she said, preparing to leave.

"Good night, Cissy," he replied, before nodding grudgingly at her son; as Narcissa and Draco departed through the fireplace in a surge of green flames, after a smile at Acquila, and a glare at Harry and Nymphadora.

"Why did she leave me the property, Sirius?" asked Harry.

"I still don't understand why she left _me_ money!" groaned Nymphadora.

"There's something in the library, isn't it? Probably something regarding the connection between Harry and me? Why else would she leave me her books knowing that I could get access to them anytime I wanted even if she had left them to you, Dad?" exclaimed Acquila.

"I…I don't know, love," lied Sirius hesitantly, knowing that Acquila's reasoning was completely correct, but not wanting her to find out that Harry and she shared the same soul, in the near future.

"Now why don't you go to sleep? You've had a long day," he continued as Harry and Acquila nodded.

"Nymphie, would you mind staying with the kids till I come back? I have some work to attend to," said Sirius after the kids left, still discussing the Will.

"You're going somewhere? At this hour?" asked Nymphadora curiously.

"Well….yes. I'll be back in an hour or so. You don't mind waiting, do you?"

"Not at all," she replied, as Sirius prepared to walk out of the door to apparate.

"Siri?" she called out, and he turned.

"Yes?"

"You know why she left me the money, don't you?" she asked him; but all she received in reply was a mischievous smirk, before he walked out of the door.

**xxx**

An hour later, Sirius stood in the graveyard in the precincts of the Muggle Church where Cassiopeia's corpse had now been buried, after Sirius had transferred her coffin magically from the Black Cemetery.

Sirius had never liked graveyards. He remembered Bellatrix trying to scare him when he was five, by telling him that graveyards were full of ghosts and Inferi. Though the idea of the Inferi had scared his young mind, Sirius had never feared graveyards. But they made him feel uneasy; the dreary atmosphere in most graveyards somehow always chilled his bones. And he had hated each Halloween, when Walburga would drag Regulus and him to the Black Cemetery to pay their respects to the long line of Blacks who were laid to rest there.

But as he looked around this Muggle graveyard, he knew that Cassiopeia couldn't have been laid to rest in a better place. The graveyard was in a small village, where hardly a handful of families lived. And overlooking the Church, were verdant hills which seemed beautiful even in the darkness, lit only by the moonlight. Lush grass grew on the area surrounding the tombs, and the entire place seemed utterly peaceful.

Sirius had taken Remus' help to locate the Church, and to confund the priest who presided over the parish. Having never really dealt with Muggles, Sirius had been forced to ask Remus for help, since Remus had been used to interacting with Muggles in the decade that he had spent in Ireland when Sirius was in Azkaban. Though Remus had been extremely baffled when Sirius had asked him for help, he hadn't asked him any questions, knowing that Sirius would have confided in him if he wanted to.

He looked at Cassiopeia' tomb again; and whipped out his wand. His alert sense of hearing and a 'Homenum Revelio' had ensured that there were no Muggles around.

He knelt down, the knees of his robes dampening as they came in contact with the dew on the grass. His wand moved gracefully through the air, as he carved the words on the headstone of the tomb, which also contained the remains of Lewis Stafford.

**_Lewis Henry Stafford and Cassiopeia Ursula Black_**

**_United in death,_**

**_As they never were when alive._**

He knew the words weren't as eloquent as the epitaphs on the tombs of most Blacks; but it were the thoughts and emotions that mattered.

"I…I hope you're at peace…wherever you are…" he whispered, never having been good at expressing his deepest emotions, even if it was to a lady who lay six feet beneath the ground.

"I'll…ummm…I'll come to visit you…and some day when I tell the kids about you…and your life…I'll bring them here too…" he trailed off, before finally standing up and after one last glance at the tomb, he disapparated with a soft crack.

He entered Black Manor some time later, the corners of his mouth widening into a smile, as he saw Nymphadora fast asleep on the armchair in the living room. Her hair was a normal brown- the exact shade of her father's hair; it was her natural hair colour. And she looked peaceful while she slept, unlike her forever-active demeanor when she was awake.

He levitated her sleeping body with his wand, and placed her on the bed in the spare bedroom, not wanting to wake her up. After scribbling a quick letter to Andromeda saying that Nymphie would be staying over that night, he entered Harry's room, unsurprised to see him awake.

"Why are you awake, kiddo?" he asked him, as he saw Harry sitting up in his bed.

"I was thinking," Harry replied softly.

"About Aunt Cassiopeia?" he asked him, as he sat next to Harry and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Yes…and no…"

"You aren't blaming yourself, are you?"

"No…but I was just thinking about it…I've never really had someone close to me dying…I didn't know her that long…but she was still _family_, wasn't she?"

"Of course, she was, Harry. But I am sure she wouldn't want you brooding-"

"I'm not brooding, Sirius…I'm just thinking…"

"About what?" asked Sirius gently, not really knowing where Harry's thoughts were leading.

"About my mum and dad," replied Harry, finally looking up at Sirius. "I was wondering about…about their funeral…I mean…today, there were so many people who had come for…for Aunt Cassiopeia…she had all of us…her family with her…but when my mum and dad died, they wouldn't even had me at their funeral…I was wondering who buried them…since you were in prison…and Aunt Petunia would certainly not have attended the funeral…and dad's family was no more…I was just thinking…about…about that," he finished rather lamely.

Sirius glanced at Harry for a long moment, berating himself for not realising that Harry would certainly have thought of James and Lily during the funeral.

"You know, Harry," he said finally, as Harry waited patiently for him to reply. "Your mum and dad were well-loved…Lily was one of the most popular girls in school…everyone loved her…even-" Sirius paused. He had been about to say 'even Snivellus', but like James, even Sirius hated to mention Lily and the slime-ball in the same sentence.

"And Remmy arranged for the funeral, you know…Remmy and Dumbledore…and there were a great many people who came to pay their last respects to your parents…because both Jamie and Lily were loved by everyone…I know that none of their family were there to…to mourn them…but I'm sure that wherever they are now, they are happy to know that they are never far away from your thoughts, Harry-"

"But it isn't fair!" cut in Harry suddenly.

"What isn't fair, kiddo?" asked Sirius in bewilderment.

"People keep calling me the 'boy-who-lived'…but I managed to survive the curse because of my mum! They don't see that dad sacrificed his life to save us! I feel like they are forgotten by…by everyone! Hermione read in a book that on that Halloween night when Voldemort was finally gone, people celebrated all day! But did anyone even think of the fact that my parents died in the process! Did anyone even mourn that they were no more, or did they just keep celebrating! Don't they see that I didn't defeat Voldemort? My _mum_ did! Because _she died_ to save me! They don't need to call me the 'boy-who-lived' and the 'saviour'! Because I'm not!"

"Hey," said Sirius softly, not really knowing what to say. Of course, the thought had occurred to him as well; that people never really gave a thought to Lily and James. It was because of Lily that Voldemort had been defeated that Halloween night. And all of wizarding Britain owed their lives and the present state of peace to the Potters. But as the details of what exactly happened that night at Godric's Hollow were known to very few people, not many gave a thought to the two brave parents who had died to protect their son, and defeated Voldemort in the process.

Lily's sacrifice in saving Harry was at least acknowledged by members of the Order, who knew of it. But very few people realised that James Potter too, had died to protect the two people whom he loved. Nobody gave a thought to the brave bespectacled man, whom Sirius was sure had tried to hold off Voldemort without even a wand on his person, so that his wife and son could get a chance to escape.

"Sirius!" Harry's indignant call brought him out of his thoughts.

"Yes…I can understand what you're feeling…believe me, I've thought the same many a times since I've been out of Azkaban," said Sirius, and Harry noticed the sudden haunted look that entered his eyes at the mention of the prison. "And I've wondered tens of times, about why two of my friends had to give their lives to save wizarding Britain…and it hurts me as well, that most people don't even know of the part that Jamie and Lils played in defeating Voldemort…but you know, Harry…I feel that what matters more than the number of people who mourn you when you're dead is the extent of how much they miss you and keep you in their memories…and I'm sure the fact that _you _know why your parents gave their lives…and that _you_ know the worth of their sacrifice would make them happier than the Ministry declaring a national holiday to mourn the day of their death," he said gently.

"And," he continued, "they've erected a statue outside the house at Godric's Hollow-"

"They have?"

"Yes. I haven't been there obviously, but Mooney told me…a statue of Jamie, Lily and you…"

"Oh!" gasped Harry softly. "Are they…are they buried there as well? In Godric's Hollow? Or did the Potters have a cemetery like the Blacks do?"

"No. They're in the graveyard at Godric's Hollow…all Potters are buried there…" Sirius trailed off, not liking the thought of thinking of his best friend's body which lay in the graveyard; and not liking the remembrance of the fact that he hadn't even been able to be present at their funeral.

"Will you take me there? Someday," asked Harry in a small voice.

Sirius took a deep breath, before replying, "Anything for you, Pronglet."

"Thank you, Sirius," mumbled Harry, and Sirius could see his eyes suddenly looking rather moist. "I'm glad that…that you're my Godfather…and that I'm not with the Dursleys…when I was younger, I used hope that some long-lost relative of mine, would come to claim me and take me away from the Dursleys," said Harry softly, remembering discussing that with Acquila when they studied together in the Muggle school. "And I kept hoping that I would have someone who would love and care for me like my parents probably would have…and I'm glad that _you _took me in and…you didn't have to, you know…I mean, you have a daughter of your own…and you're a free man…you didn't need to take in an orphan-"

"Hey! Nothing of that, kiddo! I would have wanted you to live with me even if I had been an escaped prisoner on the run from the law…I've always loved you, Harry…since the very first time Jamie put you in my trembling arms when Lily gave birth to you…even if I had been a pauper with no fortune to fall back on, I would have done everything to take care of you. You're _Jamie's_ son…and I made a promise to Jamie, that come what may, I'll keep you safe…and I did fail on that promise a decade ago. If I had concentrated on getting you home safely rather than handing you over to Hagrid and running after the traitorous rodent…you wouldn't have had to live with those idiots! I failed you once, Harry…but I won't fail you again…and I'll always keep you safe…whether it's from selfish fools like Fudge or from Voldemort himself…"

"So you think he'll come back? Voldemort?"

"I _know _he'll come back, Harry," sighed Sirius. "I've seen him, dueled with him…and I've learnt that once Voldemort wants something, he tries his best to obtain it. And you stopped him this time, Harry. And a mere eleven-year old thwarting him in his efforts to get the Philosophers' Stone must surely have dented his pride like never before. And I'm sure he'll try to come back…but don't you worry, Harry. I'm going to stop him…he's going to have to kill me before he can get to you…I promise you that-"

"No, Sirius…I wouldn't want one more person dying to save me like my parents-"

"Harry…nothing is more important to a parent than the life and the happiness of their child. And you're my Godson, Harry…you're just like a son to me…and I'm not going to let anything happen to you…"

"But-"

"No, kiddo. Now enough of these talks for tonight. It's quite late…and well, you've had a long day. Why don't you go to sleep?" said Sirius, as he stood up and waited for a reluctant Harry to lie down on his bed.

"What did Malfoy's dad say to you, Sirius?" asked Harry as Sirius took offhis spectacles, and kept them on his bedside table before tucking him in the blankets and pressing a kiss onto his forehead.

"Malfoy and I have always had a rather rancorous relationship…one of extreme hatred…and I'm sure that if you ask Lucius what's the one thing he wants most in the world, it would be to see me dead-"

"What! Why?" gasped Harry. He knew that Malfoy had been a death-eater, but this sounded extreme, even for a Malfoy.

"Malfoy and I have had years of enmity…but that's a story for another day…Goodnight, Harry," Sirius smiled and then extinguished the candles in the room with a wave of his wand, wishing he could have installed electricity in the Manor, like at the Tonks' house.

"Goodnight, Sirius," replied Harry, as Sirius walked towards the door.

"Sirius?" Harry called out a moment later.

"Hmmm?" said Sirius, turning around to look at his godson.

"I'm glad my parents made _you_ my Godfather," whispered Harry.

Sirius just nodded, suddenly too choked with emotions to reply; but Harry knew that his words had meant a lot to him.

**xxx**

The next morning saw Sirius in quite a grumpy mood. His dreams-which had consisted of Athena and a tiny infant being interred in the Black Cemetery-had intermittently disrupted his sleep, leading to him having slept for an even lesser time than usual. Acquila mumbling something about Quirrell's turban and the Crutiatus curse in her sleep, had only added to his foul mood.

And then there was the episode with Mopsy, just after he had woken up. The elf had taken to bowing down deeply every time Sirius called for her. And when he had kindly told her to stop doing so, she had launched into a bout of hysterical tears which had subsided only after ten minutes of Sirius consoling her.

He sipped on the tea that Mopsy had brought him, as his eyes fell on the Daily Prophet which lay neatly on the table.

**BOY-WHO-LIVED IS NOW THE WARD OF HIS GODFATHER, SIRIUS BLACK**

**An exclusive insight into the thoughts of Harry Potter, along with the inside scoop on Cassiopeia Black's funeral**

**-by Rita Skeeter**

_After the deaths of Pollux and Arcturus Black in the past two years, yesterday marked the demise of another member of the Black family._

_Cassiopeia Black, whose funeral was held at the Black family Cemetery, passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning, as reported by the evening edition of yesterday's Daily Prophet. _

_But her extremely well-attended funeral not only marked the end of a generation of Blacks, but also brought forth a startling revelation. Harry Potter, the Boy-who-lived walked into the Cemetery with Sirius Black and his daughter, Acquila; revealing to the world a fact which a very few people had known- that James and Lily Potter had chosen Sirius Black as their only child's Godfather. A few discrete enquiries in the Ministry of Magic revealed that it was the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, who expedited the process of the transfer of Potter's guardianship from his Muggle relatives, which otherwise would have taken at least a couple of weeks._

_While Sirius Black seems to have settled seamlessly into his role as Head of House- as evidenced by his graceful and dignified conduct even with people who were once his sworn enemies- it was Harry Potter on whom most eyes were centered._

_With his handsome Godfather and the equally beautiful Acquila by his side, the Boy-who-lived, in his rich black robes and confident poise, looked every inch the Head of the House of Potter. A few old-timers were even heard commenting that Harry looked a spitting image of Arsten Potter, his ancestor, and one of the earliest supporters of the rights of Muggle-borns._

_With Black's immense wealth, Potter will definitely be extremely well-cared and well-provided for. But what remains to be seen is whether Sirius Black will be able to provide the poor child with the one thing that he always seems to have craved for- parental love._

_Unfortunately, from Harry's conversation with Acquila (allegedly his best friend), which was overheard; it seems that Black has rather failed in being a parental figure._

_The pre-teen orphan's green eyes- the only thing that he has inherited from his deceased mother- glistened with unshed tears as he spoke to Acquila._

_"I miss them so much!" was what Harry was heard saying. "I would do anything to get just a glimpse of them…I would give anything to have them back in my life."_

_Acquila was then seen trying to console the boy, but he continued, "I can't tell you how much I miss them, Acquila. Sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it...I don't even know where their graves are…I want to visit their graves…tell them how much they mean to me…tell them that I think of them every second that I breathe."_

_Harry's heart-wrenching confession makes us hope that Sirius Black will not only take Harry to Godric's Hollow to visit the graves of his beloved parents, but also that he will provide the poor orphaned child with all the parental love and affection that he deserves and needs._

_Her soul, spreading light, like a star_

_Shines from the abode where the eternal are_

_These are the words that Sirius engraved on the tomb of his great-aunt. And all that we can do is hope, that Sirius himself will spread brightness and light like the Dog-star that he is named after, in the miserable and loveless life of his famous Godson._

**_For a further detailed report on Cassiopeia Black's funeral, turn to page 10_**

**_For news on the Blacks' and Harry Potter's current place of residence, turn to page 6_**

"Bloody reporters!" shouted Sirius, as he crumpled the newspaper and flung it away, where the enchanted trash-can walked forward to catch it within its open brim, just before it could fall down onto the floor.

"What's the matter, Dad?" came a sleepy voice from the staircase.

"How did you wake up this soon?" he asked her, ignoring her question.

"What would Mistress like for breakfast?" the house-elf suddenly appeared before Acquila, and Sirius turned away to gather his thoughts, as Acquila proceeded to reply to the elf.

How had the reporter managed to get into the Cemetery despite all the measures Mopsy and Ted had taken to keep away unwanted people? And Sirius was sure that there had definitely been no member of the press present there, especially no one named Rita Skeeter! He had observed every person who had attended the funeral, and all of them had been known to him! Then how had a pesky reporter managed to enter the Cemetery?

And how the hell had she managed to get close enough to Harry and Acquila to make out what they were saying? The only people, whom he had seen talking to the kids, were Draco, the Flints and the Macmillan boy and Lavender Brown.

And what was that about Harry crying? When Sirius had first read the lines about Harry missing James and Lily, he had almost lambasted himself for being a pathetic parent. But then, after a wee bit of practical thinking, he had realised that Harry would never, ever have cried at the funeral. Of course, Harry did miss James and Lily; but words like 'I still cry at night' and 'I think of them every second that I breathe' just didn't seem like the sort of things Harry would say.

Sirius had seen Harry's cheeks flushing in embarrassment the previous night when he seemed to have realised that he had been crying before Sirius. That Harry would confess that he cried at nights, even if the confession was made before Acquila, seemed completely unlike Harry.

And Sirius was sure that though Harry did miss his parents and feel their void in his life, he was a boy who was far too mature for his age, thanks to his decade-long co-habitation with the Dursleys. And he would certainly not have spent his nights crying for his parents.

Sirius knew that he was still miles away from becoming the perfect parent, but hadn't Harry himself admitted to him the previous night that he was glad to have Sirius as his godfather?

Which meant that the Skeeter woman had completely twisted whatever she had heard! But that again got him back to the question of how she had managed to not only enter the Cemetery, but get close enough to the children to overhear their words.

"DAD!" Acquila's loud call made him turn around to face her.

"Yes, love?"

"I've been calling you since the past ten seconds! And you're engrossed in your own thoughts!" she told him indignantly.

"I'm sorry, love…there's a slight problem…can you tell me whether Harry spoke to you about missing his parents last night?"

"Uh…he did…but I thought he spoke to you about it…he told me he will speak to you…about wanting to visit their graves-" she replied hesitantly.

"He didn't tell you that he cries, did he?"

Sirius smiled as he saw Acquila snorting.

"Harry hardly ever cries, Dad! He's a strong boy! And he never even cried when Dudley and his cronies bullied him at school!" replied Acquila. "And he never mentioned anything about him crying when we spoke yesterday! He just said that he misses his parents and that he wants to visit their graves and that he knows that you love him," she continued, as Sirius smiled at hearing the last part of her answer.

"Was there anyone else around you when you both were speaking?"

Acquila's reply was instantaneous.

"No, Dad! There was no one…just Harry, Mopsy and me."

"Alright…will both of you be alright if I leave you alone for some time? I'll need to have a stern chat with someone-"

"Of course we'll be alright, Dad! We aren't kids, you know," replied Acquila with a roll of her eyes.

"And…" he hesitated; he knew that Harry would be bothered on knowing of what was written about him in the report, but he preferred Harry knowing of it, than seeming ignorant when kids like Malfoy's brat would definitely raise the report to rile Harry when they got back to Hogwarts.

"And I want you to tell Harry to read the Prophet when he wakes up…there's a lot of rubbish written about him…Mopsy will get you another copy," he said, remembering that he had thrown away the copy of the Prophet he had read. "But tell him that I'll deal with it…and that I'll talk to him about it when I'm back," he told Acquila, who nodded.

"I'll be back soon," he said with a quick kiss onto Acquila's cheek.

As he reached the doorway of the Manor, he called out to Mopsy.

"Yes, Master!" said the house-elf, preparing to bow, before she remembered that Sirius had forbidden it, and straightened up.

"I want you to take care of the kids till I'm back. And ward the Manor even more securely, especially against intruders who are Animagii or have taken Polyjuice Potion," he said. The fact that an unknown person had managed to get close enough to his children to listen to what they were speaking had Sirius fearing for their safety- especially Harry's, since Voldemort was still alive, even if in a body-less form.

"Mopsy will do as Master wishes," said the elf as Sirius walked a few paces further and disapparated.

**xxx**

Sirius walked out of the Daily Prophet editor's office with a satisfied smile on his face. He hadn't been able to meet Rita Skeeter as she was off to interview a bloke named Gilderoy Lockhart, who was apparently in the running for the post of the Defence against Dark Arts at Hogwarts. And Sirius felt rather sorry for the man, as he would not only be taking up a cursed job- which Sirius felt only Remus had the capability to hold on to- but also because Gilderoy would be interviewed by Skeeter, who would surely twist his words in an atrocious manner to attract eye-balls.

Barnabas Willoughby, the editor of the Daily Prophet had been a much easier man to convince than Cornelius Fudge had been. Willoughby, who was extremely pleased to see Sirius in his office, had readily agreed to Sirius' 'request' of not printing any article about either Harry or Acquila, without tangible evidence to back it up, and only with Sirius' assent.

Willoughby had also agreed to make Skeeter render a public apology to Harry in the next edition of the Prophet, for attributing quotes to Harry, which Harry had never uttered.

Sirius apparated to Remus' apartment, in a much happier mood, though the question of how Skeeter had managed to enter the Cemetery kept whirling in his mind.

He rapped his knuckles on the large wooden door of Remus' parents' house where the werewolf had been staying, but received no answer, though his keen ears caught the sound of a soft groan coming from within.

"Damn!" Sirius swore, suddenly remembering that the full moon would be tomorrow night.

He opened the door, the wards letting him in, and walked into Remus' room; only to find Remus in a haggard, pale state.

"Mooney!" Sirius gasped, not having seen Remus in his pre-full moon state since almost twelve years.

"Hello, Padfoot," responded Remus, his voice softer than a whisper.

"Remmy, you're coming with me," Sirius told him firmly, as he opened the door to Remus' wardrobe and started levitating his neatly folded clothes in a trunk which he conjured.

"And why the hell didn't you remind me? You even went to the Muggle graveyard yesterday! If you'd reminded me of the full moon, I wouldn't have owled you asking for help! And damn! I am such a pathetic friend! I didn't even remember that it's the full moon tomorrow-"

"Calm down, Sirius," interjected Remus in a soft whisper. "You had a lot to deal with…and I wasn't as ill yesterday…"

"Now come on, let's get going. We'll go to Black Manor first, and then tomorrow we can go the Gamp Mansion…it's got a vast expanse of forest land behind the mansion…I'm sure Mooney will love the open space," said Sirius, referring to the wolf within Remus.

"But, Sirius…I can't-"

"Of course, you can! And you're coming with me! I don't want to argue about this you, Remmy! And you know that I'll win the argument anyway," he smirked, as Remus mock-glared at him.

"And believe me, Remus…its better this way, than being chained in the basement," continued Sirius softly, and Remus' silence confirmed to Sirius that his friend had indeed spent a majority of the full moon nights in the past decade, in chains, to prevent the wolf from hurting innocent.

"Come on now," said Sirius, helping Remus to stand up, and they disappeared through the fire-place along with the trunk containing Remus' meager belongings, as he smile softly. The wolf inside him, which always gained strength near the full moon nights, let out a howl of happiness, glad at the prospect of having the lone remaining member of his pack with him, after twelve long years.

The two friends entered Black Manor through the fireplace, with Remus leaning on Sirius.

"Goodness! What happened to you, Remus?" exclaimed Harry, as he took in his pale and gaunt appearance.

"He's alright, kiddo. It's just a fever," Sirius replied as Remus stiffened before glaring surreptitiously at Sirius. This was _exactly _why he hadn't wanted to come to the Manor. He wasn't ready to tell the kids about his affliction…not yet. If Harry and Acquila were anything like their parents, they wouldn't let the wolf within him change their perception of him in the slightest. Hell, Remus _knew _that his affliction wouldn't matter in the least to the two kids before him. But he still feared their reaction to his lycanthropy, feared that they would fear _him._

"Do I floo Aunt Andy?" put in Acquila, as she eyed Remus worriedly.

"No, sweetheart, he'll be fine in a couple of days," said Sirius as he helped Remus up the stairs where Mopsy had readied a room for him.

"But, Sirius!" called out Harry, as Acquila and he followed them up the stairs. "He looks so pale and exhausted! Aunt Andy will-"

"I said NO!" Sirius said a bit too harshly as Harry and Acquila looked taken aback by his sudden rudeness.

"Sirius didn't mean to shout, Harry. He's just a little worried," put in Remus softly. "And I'm fine. It's just a fever. I'll be well soon enough," he smiled at Harry as the bespectacled boy smiled back at him.

"I'm sorry, kiddo-" started Sirius, but Harry cut him off, "It's ok, Sirius. I understand," he smiled.

"Now you kids go play. Just don't fly too dangerously, especially you, Harry," said Sirius as Remus chuckled slightly. Never had he thought he would see the day when Sirius would tell someone to fly carefully. Sirius Black was indeed, fitting well in his role of a parent.

The two kids left, after promising to visit Remus after their game.

After they were gone, Sirius sighed and said, "We aren't going to be able to keep this a secret for long, Remmy. They're smart children. They'll figure it out when you fall ill every month."

"I won't be staying here every month, Padfoot. They won't know," Remus said weakly.

"Don't start with this, Mooney! You _are_ staying here with us. No-Don't you say no—" he said as Remus made to protest. "You are living here from today. In fact, this is _your_ room. I had told Mopsy to get it ready for you the day after we moved in here. This was mom's room when she was young, by the way," smiled Sirius.

"Dorea, not my mother, Walburga," clarified Sirius in amusement as he saw Remus turning even paler than he already was at the thought of living in Walburga Black's childhood room.

Remus tried to chuckle but only managed to smile, as his stomach rumbled loudly in hunger.

"Mopsy!" Sirius called out.

"Mopsy is here, Master," squeaked the elf as she appeared out of nowhere.

"Would you please bring a bowl of chicken soup for Remus?"

"Mopsy will get it soon, Master, but Mopsy requests Master not to say 'please' to Mopsy," the elf squeaked in reply.

"Oh alright, Mopsy! Just get the soup," sighed Sirius as the elf disapparated.

"We'll buy the Wolfsbane potion for you next month, Remmy. Or I'll pay someone to brew it for you…it's tough to brew, isn't it?

"No, Siri! You don't need to-"

"I know I don't need to, Remmy," cut in Sirius. "But I _want_ to. You think I'm going to let you suffer like this every month?"

"Okay…But you have to let me pay for it," Remus replied firmly.

"Of course," muttered Sirius, knowing fully well that Remus wouldn't agree to it, unless Sirius agreed to let Remus repay him.

Mopsy returned with the steaming soup and as Remus gulped it down, Sirius saw some colour return to his pale face.

"Mopsy, I forgot to tell you. I noticed that the portraits are gone. Good work!" Sirius smiled at the elf, who grinned happily in reply.

"Mopsy is happy to serve Master!" responded the elf.

Sirius had told Mopsy to take down the portraits in the Manor and put them all in the top-most room, after they had returned back from the funeral. He had known that the portraits, especially Cygnus Black;s, wouldn't take kindly to Remus living in the Manor as they would consider him a half-breed. And with even Violetta's portrait calling Harry a 'half-blood' every time he passed by, Sirius had deemed it necessary to rid the house of all the bigoted portraits. Though most of the portraits had a permanent sticking charm, Acquila had come up with the brilliant idea of carving out the piece of wall that contained the portrait and then rebuilding the wall. And Mopsy had done as instructed with her elfish magic. The only portrait that Sirius had told her to leave was that of Phineaus Nigellus. Sirius figured that it would be useful to have a quick means of communication with Albus Dumbledore, in case the situation demanded it. Floo networks could be blocked by the Ministry and owls could be intercepted. And the communication through the portrait eliminated all these risks. Though Phineas Nigellus was a wily, old fox whom Sirius couldn't really trust, he knew that he was bound to provide any service that the current Headmaster of Hogwarts demanded of him.

The rest of the day found Sirius and Remus assuaging the kids' worries about Remus' health, along with reminiscing a lot of full-moon nights that the Marauders had spent at Hogwarts.

_"Goodbye, Peter!" James and Sirius bid adieu to Peter, who wouldn't be coming with them as he hadn't yet managed to perfect his Animagus transformation._

_"I wish I could come with you…" grumbled Peter, though Sirius could see the fear lurking in his watery eyes. _

_"You'll be able to come soon, Petie! And you can take that scared look off your face…Wolves don't eat rats, you know…so even when you finally get to come with us, Mooney won't hurt you!" sniggered Sirius, as he and james left through the portrait hole, huddled under the Invisibility Cloak._

_"Who's that?" asked the fat lady. When no one answered she muttered, "Why did I even bother asking? It's Black and Potter, isn't it? I can't see you, but I know that you're there!"_

_"She knows us better than the teachers do," chuckled Sirius as James took out the Marauder's map._

_No one was in sight. Filch and his cat were on the third floor, and all the teachers in their rooms. There were just the patrolling prefects who could be easily avoided. Peeves' new target meanwhile seemed to be Moaning Myrtle. So he would not be in their way as well. _

_They finally reached Whomping Willow without any obstructions. _

_Remus was already waiting near the willow, looking right through them at the castle entrance. And Sirius knew that the kindly Madam Pomfrey had escorted him there._

_As they neared Remus, James poked him in the side, expecting Remus to get startled. _

_"You can't scare me, Prongs!" Remus chuckled. "I smelt your scent!"_

_"Damn! This just isn't fair!" grumbled James. "Padfoot can smell scents, and so can you! Only I can't!"_

_"What… what if I eat you both?" Remus voiced his concern for the hundereth time. This was the first ever time that Sirius and James were accompanying Remus on the full moon._

_"You won't! I know you won't!" James assured him._

_"But..." Remus started, wishing they would just take off the Cloak so that he could see them._

_"Mooney, I am a huge black dog and Prongs is a stag. We _will_ be able to tackle you," replied Sirius, but Remus still seemed unsure. _

_They entered the forest, just enough for the trees to cover them and then threw off the Cloak._

_"You'd better trans—Aaaargh!" Remus let out a scream of pain as his head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws._

_Sirius and James looked at Remus, speechless and wide-eyed. Never having seen Remus transform before, they stood rooted to the spot, watching their friend change into the wolf, and unmindful that once Remus changed fully, he wouldn't think twice before lunging at them. But James managed to gather his wits and screamed, "TRANSFORM, SIRIUS!"_

_"Shit!" exclaimed Sirius, before turning into the giant black Dog, and just in time, as the vicious wolf stared at him, its eyes boring into the Grim's grey ones, before turning to the stag._

_The wolf advanced, and though the dog and the stag looked scared, they stood their ground. The wolf howled at the moon and jumped to attack its prey, but the dog and the stag scampered out of the way; the stag on one side and the dog on the other. _

_The wolf looked even angrier now, and made to jump at the dog. But the dog was quick, and he jumped on the wolf instead. The wolf was caught unawares and fell onto the ground on his back, the dog standing over him._

_The wolf tried to throw the dog off, but failed. The dog was abnormally huge and the wolf was weak from hunger. _

_The wolf howled loudly, trying to throw the dog off again; not knowing whether the dog wanted to hurt him; not knowing whether it was friend or foe._

_But the next moment, the dog licked the wolf's furry face and wagged his tail; while the stag came and nudged his antlers playfully at the dog to push him off and help the wolf get up. _

_The wolf howled in annoyance, irritated at its confusion over the two strange animals. But suddenly, a voice deep within the wolf said, 'They are your friends, your pack'. _

_The wolf then stood up and looked at the stag and the dog; and knew that the voice spoke the truth. They were his pack. And since that day, the wolf, the stag and the dog roamed the Forbidden Forest together, with a rat joining them some weeks later. They made the world's strangest pack, but they were the wolf's pack…his friends._

**xxx**

"I'll owl you once the results come! Good bye!" Nymphadora Tonks waved as she left her friend's house the next evening, before walking out of the anti-Apparition wards and disapparating.

She apparated right in front of Black Manor and stumbled, and then groaned loudly. Why couldn't she have been more like her mother? Andromeda Tonks wouldn't have stumbled even if she was woken from her sleep at three in the morning and asked to apparate.

And Aurors never stumbled! If she got the requisite NEWTS and got into Auror training, Mad-Eye Moody would probably throw her out the very moment he saw her clumsiness.

She entered the drawing room of Black Manor, her nerves tingling with nervousness, which happened every time she thought of her NEWT results. Acquila and Harry were playing wizarding chess and it appeared that Acquila was winning.

Nymphadora walked stealthily, trying to make as less of sound as she could, before she stood right next to the two kids, without them having even noticed her.

"Use your Queen to kill her Knight," Nymphadora suggested to Harry.

"Dora!" Both the kids exclaimed together, startled; only now noticing Nymphadora's presence.

"I creeped up right next to you and you didn't even notice me!" she exclaimed, her voice tinted with glee. If she could stalk up to Harry and Acquila without them having noticed her, she could probably clear 'Stealth and Tracking' as well. Only if her clumsiness would abate, as it had done now.

"But we didn't hear you at all!" Acquila said, and Nymphadora felt rather like bursting into a jig.

"That's because I tried not to make a single sound…it'll help me in Auror training, you know. You need to be aware of your surroundings at all times. This is what they teach people in Auror training. Sirius told me all about his training sessions."

"I guess we need to learn that too. You never know when Voldemort could strike," said Harry, and Nymphadora noticed that he spoke of Voldemort as if it was something routine.

"By the way, how is Remus?" Nymphadora asked them, her tone suddenly serious.

"He's worse than he was yesterday," sighed Acquila said. "He looks so pale and exhausted."

"Sirius should have called mum!" Nymphadora said."She would have known what's wrong with him-"

"That's exactly what we told him," said Harry. "But he said Remus will get better…but he got worse…so Sirius is taking him to St. Mungos now."

"I hope he recovers soon," said Nymphadora, sounding worried. "I should go meet him. I'll come back in sometime," she said and ran up the staircase to Remus' room, swearing as she stumbled on a stair.

"Hey, Siri!" she said, as she entered.

"Hey, Nymphie!" Sirius said, looking up from Remus' sleeping form.

"Don't call me that! I feel like a little girl when you call me 'Nymphie'," she groaned, though inwardly not minding it at all. Sirius was the only one who could call her Nymphie and get away with it.

"You'll always be my little nymph, Nymphadora," smirked Sirius, dodging a pillow that she threw at him.

"How is he?" she asked him, as she sat down.

"He's a bit weak but he'll be fine. I'm taking him to St. Mungos. Don't worry," he replied. Remus had suggested telling Nymphie and the kids that he would take him to St. Mungos, as that would abate their suspicions about Remus' 'illness'.

"He looks so weak," she said, sitting on the bed next to Remus. "Do you what's wrong with him?"

"No. But I'm sure he'll be fine," replied Sirius, but she sensed a bit of hesitation in his voice which was generally there only when he tried to hide something. She thought of asking him but then she dismissed the thought.

"When are your NEWT results coming?" Sirius asked her to change the topic.

"Don't remind me! I don't know whether I'll get an 'O' in Charms. I need good grades to get into Auror training. This is the last batch that Mad-Eye is training! I want to be in it."

"Has Andy agreed? Last I heard she was against it."

"Not really. But she'll come around."

"Oh! Nymphadora!" said Remus softly as he woke up and noticed her sitting next to him.

"Don't call me Nymphadora," she groaned. "I hate it. Call me Tonks! Or you can call me Dora, you know; that's what most people close to me call me," she winked playfully as Sirius controlled the urge to snigger at Remus' reaction.

"Uhh…ohh…okay," sputtered Remus uneasily.

"We better get going Padfoot," Remus said, looking at Sirius.

"You're right. Let's go," he said, helping Remus from his bed and supporting him.

They made their way down the stairs, Nymphadora right behind them.

"Thanks for coming, Nymphie," Sirius said as he made his way to the door with Remus at his side.

"You don't need to thank me, Siri. I like spending time with the kids."

"Take care of them and owl me if anything happens," Sirius said.

"Don't worry, Dad. We'll be fine. Take care of Remus and owl us what the doc… healers say about him," put in Acquila, who had walked up to them.

"Sure, love."

As Harry shouted out a 'Take care' to Remus, the Animagus and the Werewolf disappeared into nothingness.

**xxx**

They apparated in front of a spooky-looking Manor. It was one of the Manors owned by the Gamps, and the only one which had a forest behind it. And Remus knew that this would be perfect for his transformation.

He could almost feel the wolf within him yelping with joy at the thought of sprinting through the forest, unlike the last eleven years worth of full moon nights which it had spent in chains. The night was not going to be easy, nor was the painful transformation; but the wolf would have its pack-mate with it; and the night wouldn't be as tedious, as lonely.

Sirius and Remus sat near the edge of the forest, leaning against a tree, reminiscing the adventures they'd had in the Forbidden Forest, Prongs, and telling the kids of Remus' furry little problem.

"We should tell the kids, Remus. I know they'll understand and accept you like we had!"

"No, Padfoot! Not now. When time comes I'll tell them," Remus whispered.

"And when is that time going to come? I know you'll want to keep postponing it for as long as you can! They're my kids for Merlin's sake! Harry is Jamie's son! You think they are going to shun you for something you have no control over? And if you don't tell them, they'll find out themselves! They are smart and you will be living with us! They are bound to notice you falling ill every month! I can't lie to them every time! I am already lying to them that I know nothing of the bond!"

Remus looked like he was going to argue further, so Sirius quickly added, "And did you see how Nymphie looked at me? She was so suspicious about my replies! She knows I'm hiding something. I hope she doesn't ask Andy if we were at St. Mungos,..because then she'll know I lied."

"Oh no!" said Remus, turning paler.

"I will have to talk to Andy and convince her to lie to Nymphie…Merlin!"

"Sorry, Padfoot! For putting you through so much-"

"You'd better stop that right there, Remmy! You don't need to apologise! You're family! And-"

"Aaaahhhhhhh!" Remus' vision of Sirius turned blurry, as his eyes watered with the pain of his body twisting and being pulled against its will. He felt fur sprout upon his body, and his hands and feet changing into paws.

Pain! It was strange how despite years of having gone through the same pain, it seemed to hit him with even greater intensity each new time he transformed.

"Aaaaaaaah!" he screamed again, but halfway through the scream, he noticed that the latter part of the scream had come out as an animalistic howl.

He physically wasn't Remus anymore. He was the wolf. But mentally, he was still Remus.

He tried to snatch at the last remaining human part of his mind, but the wolf snapped at the last strings that bound his mind to Remus, the man, and Remus thought no more.

"Grrrrrrr!" the wolf growled, before letting out a joyful howl as he spotted the vast, open expanse of land after years of being bound in restraining chains.

"Oooowwwwwwww!" he howled loudly, sprinting freely through the wild grass, before his keen ears caught the sound of four pair of paws running after him.

He turned suddenly, his hackles raised, as he looked for the animal following him.

But as his eyes fell on the giant hound, the wolf heard a triumphant howl rushing out of its mouth.

It was his pack-mate! He jumped at the dog, which jumped at him, before it licked the wolf's furry head in an affectionate gesture.

The wolf growled loudly again, looking around for the other members of his pack. It started sniffing the air and the ground around it, wanting the stag and the rat with him. But the dog tugged at the wolf's ears gently with its teeth, trying to gain the wolf's attention. The wolf growled angrily, wanting the stag and the rat; wanting its pack to be finally complete. But the dog snapped playfully at the wolf, letting out a low, forlorn bark. And the wolf somehow understood that the stag and the rat were never coming back again. It was only the dog that had come back to him.

It let out a loud howl full of grief and pain; and the dog, which seemed to understand it's pain, howled aloud with it- the two howls permeating through the silence of the woods. And then, suddenly, the dog barked at the wolf, and sprinted away.

And a long moment later, the wolf ran after the dog, realising that the dog wanted to roam the forest with him; just as they had once done a long time ago. And as the wolf sprinted through the wilderness, it realised that though the other two pack-mates would never come back, the dog would always remain its pack-mate. It would always come back to him.

**xxx**

A half-asleep Nymphadora heard soft footsteps coming towards her. She had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room of Black Manor. She judged that it was barely dawn by the lightening sky outside the window.

She sat up with a start. Who could it be? She tightened her hold on her wand, which was in her pocket. As the footsteps grew closer, she stood suddenly and spun around, wand raised.

"Merlin, Nymphie! You scared me!" Sirius let out a rattled shout, his own wand pointed at her.

"_You_ scared _me_! I thought it was an intruder!" said Nymphadora, shoving her wand back into her pocket.

"Nobody can get into the Manor, Nymphie! But good reflexes, eh? You do have the makings of a good Auror!" he smiled.

"I thought you were sleeping, by the way. I was just coming to check on you," Sirius continued.

"Holy Helga! How's Remus?" she exclaimed suddenly, having just remembered that Sirius had been to St. Mungos with Remus. "How are you home so early? Did you leave Remus alone at the hospital? How is he? What did the healers say?"

"Calm down, Nymphie! Remmy is fine. The healers gave him a potion. He'll be fine. I just put him in his room," Sirius said, gesturing towards Remus' room.

"Are you sure?" she exclaimed suddenly.

"Huh?" gasped Sirius, and she thought she saw him turn a bit pale. "Of course! Why would I lie?"

"St. Mungos never discharge patients until they are perfectly fit. And they don't discharge patients this early in the morning. How did they discharge Remus? You both had gone only for the night," she demanded as her hair turned a deep blue colour of suspicion.

Sirius swore mentally. Why did Andy have to tell all the bloody hospital rules to her daughter?

"Umm… they told me the same thing. But I said I could take care of him. All he needed was a vial of potion..." he muttered, praying that Nymphadora would believe him but he could see she wasn't convinced.

"You know, Nymphie; you aren't even an Auror yet, but you are already investigating me like Aurors investigate criminals!" he chuckled, hoping to divert her attention from the topic at hand.

"I just thought…anyway, I think I'll head home now. Tell the kids that I said bye," she said out of the blue and went towards the fire place and disappeared in a flurry of green flames.

Nymphadora stepped out of the fireplace at her house.

"Nymphadora! How are you home this early?" Andromeda asked her daughter from the kitchen table, where she was sipping tea.

Nymphadora noticed that her mother was still in her hospital robes and she looked tired and sleep-deprived.

"Were you at the hospital all night, Mum?" Nymphadora asked her, ignoring her mother's question.

"Yes. I came back some time ago…they called me in for an emergency case. This witch had a new heart sprouting near her original one every few minutes. We had to-"

"Did you meet Sirius and Remus there?" Nymphadora asked her, as Andromeda looked highly affronted at being interrupted.

"No. I don't think they were there. Why? Is Remus alright?"

"I thought so! Remus is alright; at least Sirius claims he is. But something isn't right! Sirius said he took Remus to St. Mungos, but they were back before dawn. I thought that they hadn't been to the hospital and now you confirmed it!"

"Why would Sirius lie about this, dear? Maybe they were indeed there. The hospital is huge. We do not have to necessarily cross paths-"

"But why would Sirius not tell you before admitting Remus to the Hospital? You are a healer there!"

"Stop interfering in their business, child," said Andromeda, before walking towards her room to catch up on her lost sleep.

As Dora grumbled under her breath, Sirius suddenly stepped out of the flames of their fireplace.

"Andy, are you-" Sirius stopped in mid-sentence as he spotted Nymphadora.

"Mum's gone off to sleep. And I already asked her if you two were at the hospital or not!" said Nymphadora, her hands on her hips. Sirius thought she looked rather like an enraged Minerva McGonagall. "What are you hiding, Sirius?"

Sirius swore under his breath. Why the hell couldn't Andy have kept quiet?

"Look, Nymphie. The matter pertains to Remus, and not me. If it was something about me, I would gladly have told you. But I cannot betray Remus' confidence," he replied, hoping she would agree.

Nymphadora looked like she was about to protest, as she opened her mouth to say something; but a long moment later, she shut her mouth with a snap.

"Alright," she said finally. "But he isn't seriously ill, is he?" she asked him rather earnestly.

"No, he isn't. I swear he'll be alright in a couple of days," he responded as she nodded.

"And you…you won't tell the kids, will you?"

"I won't…I wouldn't want to put Remus in trouble," she winked and he smiled back, knowing that he could trust her completely.

**xxx**

It was a couple of days later that Andromeda stood at the door of Sirius' study in Black Manor, observing her cousin who sat deeply engrossed in reading an ancient-seeming book; his black hair fell onto his face, obscuring part of his visage from Andromeda's line of sight.

She waited at the door, expecting his alert Auror reflexes and his enhanced Animagus hearing to intimate him of her arrival; but he didn't as much as look up at the door.

"Hello, Sirius," she said finally as she walked into the room.

"Hey, Andy," he muttered absently, not even bothering to look up from the book.

Someone else would have taken Sirius' ignoring her to be a sign of discourtesy, but Andromeda knew better than to think so.

"What's bothering you, Siri?" she asked him, brushing the hair off his face as she used to do when he was a little kid.

"Nothing, Andy," he replied, a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips at her affectionate gesture, before the smile vanished and he went back to reading the book.

"Are you sure? Why do I feel you're worried about something?"

"Huh? What? No…'M alright," he mumbled, still staring into the book.

"Come on, Siri!" she said exasperatedly; the impatience she had inherited from the Blacks, finally making itself known.

She grabbed the book out of his hands- fumbling with it slightly on realising that it weighed a lot more than she had expected- before snapping it shut and dispatching it to the table in the corner of the room with a flick of her wand.

"What the hell did you-Ow! Don't hit me, Andy!" he muttered, rubbing his arm where she had slapped him lightly.

Andromeda rolled her eyes at Sirius' theatrics.

"I'm sure that didn't hurt you at all, Sirius," she replied wryly. "And I did that to remind you that you are a father to two pre-teens now; and I expect you to hold your tongue when it comes to swearing."

"I just said 'hell', Andy…I didn't say something like f-"

"Enough, Sirius," she cut him off, shaking her head at the smirk on his face.

"When are you going to grow up, Siri?" she sighed good-naturedly.

"I wish we had never grown up, Andy," he replied gently. "Sometimes, I wish we could go back to being children again…you, me, Reggie, Cissy…" he trailed off, before the momentary melancholy look that had filled his grey eyes disappeared.

"Siri…I didn't mean-"

"And don't refer to me as a father to both of them," he exclaimed suddenly, disregarding Andromeda's attempt to make amends for what she had said; and she realised that Sirius had no wish to talk of the past further.

"But you do consider Harry your son," she remarked.

"I know that…but…but when you say that I'm a father to both of them…it sounds like they are siblings…and considering that they are going to marry when they grow up…if all goes well that is; it sounds incestuous, doesn't it?" he said with a shudder. "And we've already had too much of inbreeding among our ancestors," he muttered, before his eyes glazed over, and he fell into deep thought.

"That's what's bothering you, isn't it- the Bond?" she asked him, breaking him out of his reverie.

"Hmm," he hummed vaguely.

"You know, Sirius," she said as he summoned a chair for her to sit, and she sat facing him. "I feel you should tell them about the Bond-"

"Dumbledore said not to-" he started.

"And when have you agreed with everything that Dumbledore says?" she retorted pointedly. "I know that Dumbledore does everything for the good of wizardkind," she continued wryly, "But he tends to put the betterment of the wizarding world as a whole before that of individuals."

"Even Remus feels we shouldn't-"

"As if you've listened to everything that Remus says," she snorted lightly, "The number of pranks you played in Hogwarts would have been cut down by half if you had listened to what Remus told you when he was a prefect."

Sirius chuckled softly. "That's true," he replied, wondering how Andromeda knew of that.

"Who told you that, by the way?" he asked her.

"Ted did," she replied a tad hesitantly, not wanting to tell Sirius that Ted and Remus had met recently to discuss their worries regarding Sirius' state of mind and his inability to fall asleep due to the nightmares that he faced.

"Ted?" retorted Sirius sharply. "Remmy has been meeting him, has he? Discussing whether I am able to cope with everything?" he asked her shrewdly.

Andromeda coloured slightly, before shrugging; a vague expression on her face.

"I would have been worried if Remmy hadn't met him, you know," he snorted, as Andromeda sighed in relief.

"I know you worry about me, Andy…all of you," he continued, "But I'm alright…I really am!" he said at the skeptical look on her face.

"When was the last time you slept peacefully, Siri?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow delicately.

"A couple of weeks ago, at Hogwarts when Poppy gave me the Dreamless Sleep Potion," came the honest reply.

"There you go-"

"Look, Andy," he interjected. "It's nothing new…I've been used to sleeping not more than a couple of hours each night…I mean…you know how it was at Grimmauld, don't you?" he asked her, trying to sound rather off-hand, but she knew that the scars Walburga had inflicted on Sirius went far deeper than he would ever admit to anyone.

"And then the Auror missions…I couldn't really sleep well…I mean, _nobody_ can sleep well when they have had to bury the bodies of people they've worked with…people they've been to school with…" he faltered, before continuing rather reluctantly, "And then Azkaban…the Dementors…it's nothing you need to worry about, Andy…I swear…_You_ don't need to spend sleepless nights worrying about whether I'm getting proper sleep or not…it's nothing to worry about…really…I'm used to sleeping less and…don't worry about me, Andy…please…and tell Ted as well-"

"You're my cousin, Siri…I can't _not_ worry about you," she said, taking his hand into hers.

"Let's not talk of this, Andy," he said in an almost-pleading tone and she nodded in acquiescence.

"Okay. But will you at least tell the children about the Bond?"

"No-"

"Why?" she cut him off exasperatedly. "They may be just eleven, but they are far mature than children of their age generally-"

"Children! Exactly my point! They are _children_! And kids don't need to deal with matters like soul bonds-"

"Kids don't need to deal with He-who-must-not-be-named as well," she responded.

"Voldemort, Andy! Call him Voldemort!" he muttered through gritted teeth, glaring at Andromeda as she flinched on hearing the name.

"You may be brave enough to take his name, but I am not," she retorted dryly.

"So says the girl who had the courage to defy Walburga, Pollux, Arcturus and Bellatrix to elope with the man she loved," quipped Sirius, before continuing, "Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

At Andromeda's questioning look, he smiled smugly. But as she continued to look at him questioningly, he muttered, "Dumbledore's words, not mine."

"I thought so," she smirked. "You never really were one for putting things this eloquently."

Sirius grumbled under his breath, as Andromeda chuckled, before she sighed again.

"Please, Siri. Tell them about the Bond…They deserve to know…and it's something that pertains to both of them…you have no right to keep a thing of such magnitude from both of them-"

"They are mere children, Andy! They deserve to have a peaceful, fun-filled life…enjoying things that kids their age do! They don't need to live with the threat of the bloody bond dangling over their head-"

"Threat?" she snapped, cutting him off. "The Bond isn't a threat, Sirius!"

"It is! You know that if one of them is in pain, the other feels it too! If Merlin forbid one of them dies, I'll lose the other child too! Don't you get that, Andy?" he shouted, before standing up and pacing around the room.

"Siri!" said Andromeda softly, "You don't need to have such a morbid view-"

"I'm _not_ viewing things in a pessimistic light, Andy! I'm telling you the truth! If one of them dies, the other won't be able to survive as well! How do you expect me to tell them that?"

"But…but they won't die, Sirius…He-who-must…fine Vo…Voldemort," she stammered at the outraged look on Sirius' face. "He isn't back yet…and-"

"There's a bloody prophecy about Harry and Volde-" he screamed heatedly, before stopping in mid-word.

Andromeda stared at him, as the colour drained off her face.

"There's…what? A prophecy?" she whispered, walking towards Sirius.

"Uh…it's nothing you need to know, Andy-"

"There's a prophecy about Harry?" she repeated in a dazed tone.

"There…there is…but I…I can't tell you, Andy….only the Order knew-"

"Is that why he went after the Potters?" she gasped.

"Yes," Sirius muttered.

"And you haven't told him yet?"

"Of course not-"

"What is wrong with you, Sirius! You can't keep hiding things from them!"

"Look…I am not going to tell Harry about the prophecy anytime soon…I _will_ tell him..." he said hastily at the furious look on Andromeda's face, "But not yet…please, Andy…understand-"

"And the Bond? At least tell him about that!"

"I don't want to!"

"You're not making sense, Sirius! Do you have any idea how Acquila is going to react when she knows that you knew of the bond and did not bother to tell her of it? Do you even know how furious she was when Dumbledore told her that he had planned out her supposed death and hidden the fact that she had relatives that would have willingly taken her in? She caused Dumbledore's office to rattle as if it had been struck by an earthquake! Her magic and fury was-Drop that look off your face!" she snapped at the awed look on Sirius' face.

He let out an amazed whisper, "My little girl's powerful enough to rattle Dumbledore's office-"

"Sirius!" snarled Andromeda through gritted teeth, "Can we come back to the matter at hand?"

"Look, Andy…they are just thirteen…no! Hear me out!" he exclaimed as Andromeda made to retort.

"Fine," she muttered.

"The bond…well, if they know of the bond, they will feel obliged to be with each other! You know how that feels as much as I do!" he said earnestly, reminding Andromeda of their respective forced betrothals to Rabastan Lestrange and Elia Yaxley respectively. "I don't want them to be with each other because of the bond! I want them to be together only if they truly love each other-"

"But they already do love each other, Sirius! Why can't you see that?"

"What if it isn't _that _ kind of love? They are going to stay together under the same roof for all the vacations! I am as good as a father to both of them! What if they love each other like siblings?" he exclaimed in slight disgust.

"That's all the more reason to tell them sooner! So that they view each other as what they are! Soulmates!"

"I don't know, Andy," sighed Sirius as he sat down into a chair. "And…and I'm sure they'll find out sooner rather than later…Aunt Cassiopeia left all her books to Acquila…and she'll come across something about the Bond soon-"

"So isn't it better that you tell them before they find out that you knew it all along and declined to tell them?"

"No, Andy…let them grow up…fall in love with each other because they love each other…not because of the Bond…let them enjoy their childhood a little longer rather than worrying about sharing the same soul-"

"They won't worry about it, Sirius!" snapped Andromeda in exasperation. "And I am warning you, Acquila isn't going to be all that forgiving with you when she realises after all the hiding that Dumbledore's done, you hid matters from her as well. You think she's going to be happy that you are keeping her in the dark about such an important thing?"

"She'll realise that I did it for her own good! You know what kind of childhood Reggie and I had, don't you? You even know what kind of childhood Harry has had! Is it too much for me to wish that they live at least a couple of more years as children? Can't I get to see them live a normal childhood?"

"Harry was never a normal child! If whatever it is you know of the Prophecy is true, then he has always been a marked child, Sirius! And the sooner you tell him of the Bond, the sooner he can use it to his advantage if He-who-must…Vol…Voldemort," she winced as she corrected herself, "makes a return, then Harry needs all the help that he can get…and knowledge of the Bond will help him! Acquila is an extremely powerful witch, Sirius! And her magic is going to help Harry defeat him! Why can't you see that?"

"I am not going to let Voldemort get to Harry, Andromeda! Harry is my child! And before Voldemort even thinks of harming him, he has to face me! And if I've faced him four times and managed to get out of it alive, I am sure I can do it once more! And I'm going to start training both the kids in the next couple of days. I've spoken to Remmy about it, and he agrees that we need to teach both Harry and Acquila all that they need to know about magic. I haven't told the kids yet, but I'm sure they will be more than happy to learn advanced magic!"

"Merlin! You just don't see the point! Stop being stubborn, Sirius! Tell them before they read of it in some book and then hate you for keeping them in the dark about it!"

"I will think of it, Andy!" he responded. "I will think over it…just…just give me some time…maybe…maybe when they turn thirteen…I'll let them know of it…" he trailed off, as Andromeda sighed in defeat, knowing that Sirius wouldn't agree as yet.

**xxx**

Thump. Thump.

Sirius' fists connected with the Muggle punching bag which hung from the ceiling in a remote room of the Manor. It was Lily, who had introduced him to the punching bag, thinking that it would help the slightly short-tempered Sirius find a good outlet for his rage.

But currently, the punching bag, which he had purchased that morning from a Muggle store, wasn't really helping him lessen his anger. Rather, with each time that his fist hit the punching bag- which he had enchanted into looking like his imagination of Vernon Dursley's face- only increased his anger a notch up. He would have preferred imagining Petunia's face, but hitting a woman- even an imaginary one- didn't seem right to him.

Beads of sweat trailed down his face and his naked back. His arms rather ached with the effort he was putting in hitting the punching bag. But he continued hitting it, imagining himself to be landing a punch onto Vernon Dursley's face each time he did so. As a strand of his hair obstructed his vision, he let out a growl of annoyance, before conjuring a band and tying up his hair at the nape of his neck.

Damn the Dursleys! Remus and Andy probably thought that he had forgotten about the mistreatment meted out to Harry all his childhood. But Sirius Black never forgot. And Sirius Black never forgave the people who dared to hurt his family.

The Dursleys would pay! If they thought that Sirius Black was going to let them go scot-free for what they had done, they were wrong. They were completely wrong. He was going to make the Dursleys regret every damn time they had hurt Harry…every damn time they had treated him like a servant.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His knuckles banged harder against the punching bag, the skin on his knuckles which had become sore, started bleeding slightly. But he continued punching, continued venting his anger, till he finally stopped on hearing a pair of his footsteps outside the door.

"Yes, Harry?" he said, without turning to look at the door. He knew it could only be Harry. Remus had taken Acquila to his parents' house where he had kept all his books, as Acquila had expressed a desire to read the books written by some famous Muggle author whom Sirius had never heard of.

Harry, who seemed to have not inherited Lily's love for books, had preferred staying behind to practice some Quidditch moves for the upcoming school Quidditch season.

"What…why…your knuckles are bleeding…" sputtered Harry as he stared at his godfather. He was only dressed in shorts, and with the amount of sweat that he was drenched in, Harry was sure that Sirius had been boxing for more than an hour.

"I want you to come with me, Harry," said Sirius suddenly. Remus- who would certainly have stopped Sirius from hexing the Dursleys- wasn't around. And this was the best chance he would get to give the Dursleys what they deserved.

"Where are we going?" asked Harry hesitantly as he saw Sirius' eyes which were blazing with anger.

"To meet the Dursleys," came the reply.

"What? Why? I told you I want to have nothing to do with them-"

"But I have some unfinished business with them," said Sirius in a tone which merited no protest.

"Mopsy!" Sirius called out and the elf appeared.

"Yes, Master?"

"I want you to dress Harry in the most expensive robes that you can get! And put the Potter family crest onto them!"

"Yes, Master!" said Mopsy as she disappeared again with a snap of her fingers.

"But, Sirius-"

"Please, Harry. I know you might have forgiven them, but I haven't! And I'm going to make them pay for what they've done…for all the pain they've caused you…now go and get ready while I take a quick bath," he said firmly as Harry nodded and departed, hoping that Sirius wouldn't do anything to the Dursleys which would give him an Azkaban sentence again.

**xxx**

Petunia Dursley hummed absent-mindedly as she wiped the kitchen surfaces with a sponge. She paused in mid-movement as she glanced at her son, who sat in the living room watching his favourite show on the television.

"Are you hungry, Duddiekins?" she asked him as she washed her hands and walked towards Dudley as ruffled his blonde hair lovingly.

"I want a burger!" he demanded and Petunia walked back into the kitchen, smiling as she did so. Never before had the Dursleys been happier, and Petunia knew that it was because of the absence of _that boy. _She had wondered- though she wouldn't admit it to anyone- about where _he _was now…He. It was strange how she never referred to him by his name, even in her thoughts. He was always 'the boy' or 'him'; never Harry Potter.

She remembered the day she got the letter from Dumbledore a couple of weeks ago, stating that the boy wouldn't be coming back to them. Vernon had been ecstatic, and Dudley had been glad that he would get back the smaller bedroom to store his toys again. And honestly, even Petunia had been relieved that they wouldn't have to take care of that freak again. Her life could go back to being normal, without the presence of wizards and magic.

But she often found herself wondering about where _he _was. She even missed his presence at times; even it was only because she realised that there wouldn't be anyone to heat the bacon or to mow the lawn during the summer. But her mind did wander to _him_ time and again.

If she delved into the deepest crevices of her heart, she would admit that she had treated him unfairly. Whether it was treating him like a servant at times, or dressing him up in Dudley's hand-me-downs which were almost thrice his size. She also knew that if it had been Dudley who had been left with Lily, Lily would have treated him as her own son.

But Petunia wasn't Lily. Though she hated even the thought of admitting it, Petunia knew that Lily was twice as good as Petunia could ever even dream of being. She was everything that one could want in a daughter, a sister, a wife…and that was why Petunia detested her! Because try as she might, she could never become as good as Lily. And each time she had looked into the boy's green eyes, she had been reminded of the sister she failed to love, the sister she had failed to protect, and most of all, the sister she had let down terribly by mistreating her only son.

Lily! It was strange how you could love a person just as much as you hated her.

She shook her head to clear it of thoughts. Thinking of her deceased sister had never done her any good.

She started humming again, unconsciously humming the very same lullaby that their mother used to sing to Lily and her, while putting them to sleep.

"MUMMMM!" Dudley's loud shout brought her out of her thoughts.

"What's the matter, darling? Are you alright? Are you hurt?" she screamed in panic as she rushed towards her son.

"LOOK!" Dudley yelled as he pointed a fat index finger towards the window which overlooked the gate leading to their house.

Petunia's eyes widened in astonishment and she gaped at the figure which opened the gate and walked down the cobbled path leading to the house. She let out an exclamation of horror as she looked at the enormous creature that walked next to the figure.

It was _that boy. _But where had he got those rich-looking clothes from? His clothes seemed to be costlier than anything Dudley owned. And what was that enormous dog doing with him?

"VERNON!" she shouted, and her husband came down the stairs; his feet that carried the weight of his enormous girth thumping down the staircase.

"What's the matter-Goodness! What is HE doing here? Didn't that old fool say that he isn't going to come back?" he thundered. "And what is that…that beast doing with him?"

The three Dursleys stared at them in horror, as Harry walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

"Don't open the door, Mum!" screamed Dudley, clutching at his fat bottom, as he remembered the last encounter he had had with a wizard, which had left him with a pig's tail.

"Don't…don't be scared of him, son! He's just…just a little boy…I'll teach him a lesson for coming back here again when they clearly said that he will be gone for good!" said Vernon, as he opened the door, though Petunia noticed his hand trembling slightly.

"Why are you here, boy?" he demanded as he took in Harry's expensive clothes, his well-fed body and his new spectacles in surprise, along with the air of confidence which Harry had certainly never had when he had lived with them.

"I-" started Harry, but stopped when he heard a loud, angry growl.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" the massive dog growled, as its grey eyes stared at Vernon's beady eyes in distaste.

"Take-take that beast out of here, boy! You know we do not allow animals in the house! That we kept a freakish, good-for-nothing creature like you for a decade doesn't mean that-Aaaarrrrgh! Let go of my foot! Owwww!" Vernon screamed in pain as the Dog snapped at his trouser-clad ankle and captured it within his massive set of teeth.

"Shoo! Let go of him! Tell the dog to let go!" shouted a panicked Petunia, while Dudley ran up the stairs in sheer terror. Vernon kept screaming in pain and fear, trying to shake the dog off his leg, but the hound's sharp teeth only sunk deeper into his flesh.

"Leave…leave him, Sirius," said Harry, and the dog finally let go, and Vernon scampered backwards, shielding Petunia with his massive body.

"Take the brute…I mean, take it out…take it out…pl…please," sputtered Vernon, as Petunia whimpered in fear.

But moment later, a loud scream erupted from both their throats as the dog turned into a tall, long-haired man; a man whose eyes contained the most menacing anger that Petunia had ever seen in anyone.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note:**I know I said we'll post the chapter sooner, but it seemed more of a filler chapter, so we added quite a lot to it, to make it better! Hope you all like it! :-) And please excuse any errors. Didn't get time to read it through, will correct them when I go through the chapter tonight :-)

**dream lighting- **Sirius does spend time with Acquila in this one. A couple of father-daughter bonding scenes. Hope you like them! :-)

**JordanMathias** - I realised we should have put in the death-eater comments when I read it in your review :-( Wish we'd thought of that earlier. Hope you like this chapter though :-)

**Sakura Lisel**- The answers to all the points you raised can be found in Potterhead999's review

**Grazielly , Misty, Merida , Guest, Guest, Guest**- Thanks a lot!

**Nerdman3000**- Thank you so much! Hope you like the coming chapters as well!

**BestMarauderEver**- Thank you so much! :-D

**ThInKpOsItIvE**- Thank you. She'll get a little upset but get over it :-)

And** PotterHead999**- Thank you so, so much! And an even bigger thanks for the reply to the review! You phrased the reply better than both, my friend and me, could have! :-D The Lupin-Tonks part is in this one! Isn't as long as we originally wanted it to be, but there'll be more on them in future chapters! Thank you so much again! And hope you like this update too! :-D :-) :-*

**Disclaimer: **All belongs to JKR!

**Chapter 20: An eventful week**

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Petunia and Vernon shouted in unison as the black-haired man glared at them with blazing eyes- eyes full of vengeful fury.

"Who…who are you?" spluttered Vernon in fear, grabbing a crystal vase from the table, and brandishing it like a sword.

"He's…he's the man who was in the news! The man who was falsely imprisoned!" gasped Petunia,

Sirius whipped out his wand from the pocket of his robes, holding it aloft with a sneer.

"Pu…put that back! We…we don't allow this in our house!" stammered Vernon, as he tried to put up a brave front; but his courage vanished a moment later as Sirius waved his wand and vanished the vase in Vernon's hands.

"How….how dare-" Vernon said no more, though his mouth continued to move, as Sirius' silencing charm found its mark.

Sirius smiled warmly, as he heard Harry chuckling softly from beside him, his green eyes sparkling with amusement.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HUSBAND?" shrieked Petunia, as she tried to shake Vernon's massive body and failed, as if that could help him find his voice; while Vernon opened and shut his mouth, gesturing at Sirius and Harry in horror.

"Give him his voice back!" whimpered Petunia, though she inched away from Sirius in terror.

"How dare you ill-treat Harry!" snarled Sirius, walking towards Petunia, as Vernon tried to come in between them.

But with a flick of Sirius' wand, thick ropes sprouted out of thin air and bond Vernon tightly as he fell onto the floor in a thump.

"How could you even think of mistreating Harry?" Sirius repeated, as he continued walking towards Petunia, his wand raised towards her.

"No…no…" she whimpered. "Don't hurt me!" she let out a strangled shriek of terror, as Sirius stopped in his tracks.

"You should thank your stars that I do not hurt women, or I would have hexed you within an inch of your life!" he thundered, as Vernon thrashed madly, trying to free himself of the ropes binding him.

"Petrificus Totalus!" snarled Sirius, and Vernon stopped struggling.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" Petunia let out a guttural wail as she rushed towards Vernon.

But a swish of Sirius' wand stopped her in her tracks, an invisible barrier impeding her progress.

"He's alive," said Sirius harshly as Petunia turned her tearful face at him.

"What do you want?" she asked Sirius tearfully. "What do you want? I'll give you whatever you want…just let my family go…" she pleaded, looking at Harry.

"Don't you even talk to him!" snarled Sirius, standing between Harry and Petunia.

"Do you know how much Lily loved you? Do you know of all the nights she spent sleepless at Hogwarts because you returned her letters unopened; of the tears she shed when you refused to even attend her wedding? You refused to even let her meet your son! She bloody loved you! She would have done anything to have you even acknowledge her existence! She would have given her very life to protect you! She used to come to your house once a week to cast new wards around you to protect _you _and your bloody family against Death-Eaters!" he spat at her, as he advanced towards her again.

"And what did you do? How did you repay her love? By abusing Lily's only child!" he thundered, as Harry heard the glasses on the windows exploding; and he knew it was Sirius' rage that had caused it. The crockery on the dining table exploded as well, along with the glass in the lamps in the room. The very air in the room seemed to be heavy with magic, and he could almost feel waves of fury radiating from Sirius.

"Sirius," whispered Harry fearfully, and as Sirius looked down at him, he shuddered involuntarily as he saw the enraged look on his godfather's features. His grey eyes had darkened with fury to the darkest of black; and it was now that Harry realised why Dora said that all Blacks carried a strange darkness within them.

"Don't stop me, Harry," said Sirius, as he looked at a whimpering Petunia again.

"Your husband is a fool! But you? Harry is your blood! He is the only child of the only sibling you ever had! Lily was the only family you had left when your parents died! And is this how you treat family? You kept him in a dingy cupboard under the stairs! You let him starve without food! Mobilicorpus!" Sirius shrieked, as Vernon's stunned and bound body slammed into the door of the cupboard under the stairs which Sirius had opened a moment ago.

Vernon's massive waist stuck in the door to the cupboard, but with a flick of his wand, he disappeared, and appeared right inside the cupboard.

"What have you done!" shrieked Petunia, as she tried to rush towards the cupboard, but Sirius' spell stopped her in her tracks.

And though Harry was rather uneasy at the anger raging within Sirius, he stifled a smile as he imagined a fat Vernon trying to get himself out of the narrow door of the cupboard, when he regained consciousness and mobility.

"Please…don't do this…please…bring my husband out of that…" begged Petunia, but Sirius continued to glare at her.

"How many times did you let my godson starve, Petunia?" Sirius spat at her.

But Petunia seemed to have heard only one word of that sentence.

"Godson? He's your… Godson?" she gasped.

"Yes, Harry _is _my Godson! And I wish to Merlin that I had been here ten years ago to claim Harry, rather than let him live with sadists like you! Aren't you a mother yourself? Isn't your son just a few weeks older than Harry? How would you have felt if your son was treated the way you treated Harry? How do you think Lily would have felt on watching you make her only son stay in a dingy cupboard? What if it was you in her place, lying six feet under the ground, unable to even defend your son? Did you never think of-"

"Have you ever thought of how I felt?" screeched Petunia suddenly; her fear seemed to have disappeared.

"Do you know how I felt when she disappeared for ten months of the year? Did you know how I felt when all my parents would do when she came back for the holidays was fawn over her?" she shouted, as Harry stared at her open-mouthed, while Sirius who seemed to have expected the outburst just stared at her shrewdly.

"'Lily is so wonderful!'" said Petunia, in a sickening imitation of one of her parents. "'Our Lily is a witch!' 'We are so blessed to have a daughter like Lily!' Lily this…Lily that! Do you know how I felt knowing that all my parents cared for was Lily? Who was I to them? Just an unwanted child! Who took care of my parents for ten months of the year when Lily would be at the dratted school? Who cared for my mother when she fell ill? I did! But whom did they love? Lily! The two months of summer that she used to be home, all they did was fawn over her, and praise her and love her! And what did I get? Nothing! Lily was always the favoured child! And why was all this? Just because she was a FREAK!"

"DON'T-" started Sirius, but it was a much calmer voice, though laced with anger, which made Petunia stop.

"Don't call my mother a freak!" said Harry, his green eyes blazing with a strange fire.

"_You_ don't tell me what to do! You are just as bad as she is! Every time I look at your eyes, it reminds me of HER! I hate her! If she hadn't went and got into your world, we would have been a happy family! What did she do? She went and married that Potter-" Harry clutched Sirius' wrist, as he felt him bristle angrily beside him.

"-And then _your_ people killed my parents! It wasn't a car crash! I know it was one of your kind that killed them!"

"Voldemort isn't 'our people'!" said Sirius angrily, remembering that Lily's parents had perished in an attack orchestrated by Death-Eaters.

"You are all the same!" shouted Petunia. "Lily went and got herself blown up! And I got left with him!" she pointed a trembling finger at Harry. "And every time I look into your face, I remember what I lost because of you people and your freakishness! I lost my parents! I was overlooked all my childhood because of her! And just when I thought I would live a normal life with my family, I got saddled with him-"

"Stop blaming Lily!" shouted Sirius furiously as Petunia shut up suddenly.

"And stop saying that your parents favoured Lily over you! I've met your parents quite a few times! And they never seemed the type of people who would favour one child over the other! It's _you_ who felt that way! Because you were _jealous_!" he screamed, and Harry noticed that whatever little colour was left in Petunia's face disappeared.

"Jealous that you didn't have magic like Lily did! Jealous that Lily was a much better person than you can even dream of being! Jealous that try as you might, you could never be the witch that Lily was!"

"Why would I be jealous of her?" said Petunia, though Harry could see that she was lying. "Why would I want to be like her? She was nothing but an abomination against nature! She was abnormal! And a freak! Like he is! Like you are!"

"Then why did you send the letter to Dumbledore?" sneered Sirius, as Harry gasped audibly.

"You…you sent a letter to Dumbledore?" he stuttered.

"Stay out of this, boy!" Petunia yelled at Harry.

"Don't yell at him!"

But Petunia seemed not to have heard him.

"Do you see why I hate her? She had no right to tell you about the letter! But she told you! She betrayed my secrets! Just as she had betrayed them to her freakish friend who live at Spinners' End-"

"Why wouldn't she tell me?" roared Sirius, as Harry wondered about who was it who lived at Spinners' End, whom his mother had confided in.

"You never cared for her!" Sirius continued. "You hurt her innumerable times! And she had no Muggle friends left to confide in, because you instigated them all against her! Just like your son ensured that Harry had no friends! Lily was like a sister to me! And she had every right to tell me what she felt! Because she knew that I would understand! And you think I don't know how it is to feel like an unwanted child-" Sirius paused suddenly as Harry stared at Sirius, shocked that he had mentioned his childhood.

"Even if you did detest Lily, you had no business unleashing your hatred for her against a defenceless fifteen-month old!" Sirius continued furiously, as if the mention of his childhood had never occurred. "You could have treated Harry well…you could have made up for all the hurt you caused Lily by taking care of her son! But you couldn't look beyond your childish jealousy! You are so bloody narrow-minded, so immature! Despite being a mother yourself, you didn't have enough of a mother within you to care for an orphaned toddler! You didn't even give him proper clothes to wear! Didn't even celebrate a single birthday of his! You are the vilest-"

A sudden pattering of feet on the stairs made Sirius stop in mid-sentence.

It was Dudley. His chins wobbled, as he visibly shivered in fear.

"What-" Dudley started, but he said no more, as a jet of light from Sirius' wand hit him right in his chest. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, as Harry saw Dudley's eyes widen in fear and shock; while his body seemed to change. He shrunk vertically, and suddenly bent down on all fours, and a moment later, in place of Dudley, there stood a fat, pink pig with a tuft of blonde human hair on its head.

"DUDDERS!" Petunia shrieked as Harry bent double, clutching his stomach in laughter at the sight before him.

"You used to call him a pig in a wig, didn't you?" grinned Sirius, as Harry wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.

"Let's go," said Sirius as he ushered Harry towards the door, as they heard an 'Oink Oink' coming from Dudley, while Petunia gathered the fat pig in her hands, while it tried to escape down the stairs, probably wanting to go out of the house to look for a puddle of mud.

"Nooooo! Don't go! Put him right! Please! Change him back!" wailed Petunia, as she attempted to stop the pig's efforts to escape from her clutches.

But Sirius continued walking, as Harry's laughter suddenly died down on hearing the sorrow in his Aunt's voice.

As he reached the door, Sirius stopped and turned behind to look at a sobbing Petunia.

"Now you know how it feels when someone hurts your child," was all he said, before Harry and he left through the door.

They could still hear Petunia's wails; they had hardly taken a few steps forward, when Harry stopped in his tracks.

"Sirius?" he said, as his godfather looked at him questioningly; his eyes seemed to have returned to the normal grey from the darkened black.

"You want me to reverse what I did, don't you?" Sirius sighed, having read Harry's mind.

"Yes," replied Harry.

"I knew you would say that," Sirius sighed again. "You're too much like Lily at times-"

"I know that they never treated me well, but…but they did take me in…they could have thrown me out of their house…kept me on some street to die…but even if they did so grudgingly, they did keep me in their house for ten years, didn't they? And…and I don't want anything to do with them now, Sirius. They can live their lives in peace…and I'll live mine…and they've got punishment enough, I feel," said Harry softly.

As Harry said this, Sirius' keen ears caught a sudden lull in Petunia's sobs, and he knew that the woman had heard Harry. She was probably hoping that Sirius would agree with Harry and turn her husband and son back to normal.

"Alright," said Sirius reluctantly, and went in, while Harry continued to stand out, not wanting to see the Dursleys again. He knew he would never see them again, and though he felt glad about it; he had no wish, and more importantly, no idea of how to bid them a final goodbye. How would one say goodbye to someone they've spent a decade with- a decade full of indifference and contempt bordering on hatred from the Dursley's side.

Sirius' firm footsteps and Petunia's shriek of relief brought Harry out of his thoughts. He even heard Vernon's booming voice, and what sounded like Petunia smothering Dudley with kisses.

"Let's go," said Sirius as he put his hand on Harry's shoulder.

But as they walked ahead, Harry heard a faint 'thank you, Harry' in his Aunt's voice. A slight grin grew on his face, as he realised that this was the first time in the past few years that he had heard his aunt refer to him by his name; and probably the last time as well.

"Sirius?" he said to his godfather as they walked through the street; they would take a portkey from an isolated spot at the end of the street.

"Hmmm?"

"How did you know all that? I mean…about my mum being hurt about how Aunt Petunia treated her?"

"Well…you know that James was an only child…so was Remmy. Lily spoke to Jamie about her issues with her sister, but he never really understood why Lily couldn't let go of Petunia despite her giving her so much heartache. Athena couldn't understand Lily much because she got on very well with her own sister, Marlene…and well, I could because I faced problems with Regulus as well…that's how my friendship with Lily grew actually…because we bonded over the grief our siblings gave us," Sirius let out a forced laugh.

"She told me about Petunia…and I told her about Reg…it's strange how you can love your sibling and hate them as well at the same time…I hated Reggie at times, but I never stopped loving him, never stopped hoping that he would come to his senses and become the brother I once doted on…" Sirius trailed off, before seeming to realise that he was telling all that to Harry.

"Let's take the portkey now, kiddo…I wanted to try apparating with you kids…but Remmy told me you're a bit too young for it…" he said off-handedly, though Harry knew that his thoughts were still on what had transpired in Privet Drive, and on Regulus.

"Hold on to this now!" said Sirius, and Harry turned behind to take a last look at Number Four, Privet Drive; before his surrounding disappeared in a swirl of colours.

**xxx**

"Where were you, Sirius?" Remus' calm voice questioned him when he walked into Black Manor.

"Where did you go, Harry? You didn't even tell us that you're going out!" said Acquila.

"We went to pay a long overdue visit to the Dursleys," replied Sirius, looking defiantly at Remus.

"Sirius turned Dudley into a pig, Acquila! A pig in a wig! With a tuft of blonde hair on his head! He looked so funny!" exclaimed Harry, as Acquila burst into a fit of laughter imagining a pig with Dudley's face.

"Is that all you did, Padfoot?" asked Remus suspiciously.

"Uh…well, I also stuffed an unconscious and bound Vernon into the cupboard under the stairs, and I doubt he'll be able to get his massive self out of the narrow door," replied Sirius with a smirk.

"What am I going to do with you, Sirius?" muttered Remus, though Harry noticed the ends of his lips twitching.

"You can laugh, Mooney. I know you want to. I can see you trying to stifle a smile. Come on! Bring out your inner Marauder," quipped Sirius, as Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius, before finally breaking into an amused smile.

"You need to set a good example to the kids, Padfoot! Not teach Harry to cast hexes on-"

"No, Remus!" cut in Acquila. "They deserved it! Especially Dudley!" she huffed, remembering the huge boy who kept looking for opportunities to punch Harry. "And why didn't you tell us? I wanted to come as well! Even Dora had a couple of rather innovative hexes she wanted to try on the Dursleys!"

"It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to visit Privet Drive, love, or I would have taken you…a little wandless magic from you would have-"

"Sirius!" exclaimed Remus. "Don't encourage her to-"

"Oh, come on, Remmy! You know they deserved it! I didn't even do them any lasting damage! Jamie would have hexed them much, much more than I did for the way they treated Harry. Though I would have loved to see the expression on Petunia's face when Nymphie morphed her hair and nose! You should have seen them screaming when I transformed from Padfoot to me! Seeing them react to Nymphie's morphing would have been amusing! She could have even changed her nose into a pig snout to give Dudley company," winked Sirius. "You would have loved seeing Nymphie, wouldn't you, Remmy?" asked Sirius, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly.

"Merlin!" sighed Remus, as Harry chuckled.

"And by the way, Sirius, are you sure it was a sudden decision? Or did it have to do something with me not being here to stop you?" asked Remus shrewdly.

Sirius just shrugged at him, before throwing him a smirk.

"When are you ever wrong, Mooney?" he chuckled, before calling out to Mospy, telling her to set the table for dinner.

**xxx**

Later that night, Acquila entered her father's study, expecting to see him sitting in his usual chair, deeply engrossed in reading some ancient book from the library. That was what he had been doing recently. And she had guessed that he had been either reading about ways to avoid Voldemort's resurgence, or about the connection she shared with Harry.

But today, she was taken aback to see him not bent over a book, but fast asleep on the armchair. A heavy book rested on his chest, one of his hands lying over it; while his other arm dangled limply by his side. She had come to talk to him about celebrating Harry's birthday. But as she saw him asleep, she did not have the heart to wake him up.

She turned around, about to leave the room, when she heard her father's voice saying something.

"Don't...don't kill her...Wormy...traitor...don't!"

She realised that he was mumbling in his sleep; an extremely agonised expression on his face that marred his handsome features.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, before rushing towards him.

"Dad! Wake up! It's just a dream!" she shouted, as the heavy book flew into the air on its own, before settling down onto the table. She didn't even realise that her magic had reacted and caused the book to levitate. All that she concentrated on, was waking up her father.

"Dad! Wake up!" she cried again, but Sirius continued to mumble, his volume increasing; while his arms flailed about wildly as he seemed to be wanting to bodily move the dream-Wormtail.

"Don't kill her! Athena! Don't…don't kill her"

THUD

A loud thud echoed across the silent study, as Sirius fell off onto the floor; the armchair toppling sideways due to the force of him having thrashed around.

"Bloody hell! Merlin's saggy-" Sirius stopped mid-word in his swearing streak as he saw Acquila standing right next to him, towering over him as he lay in a heap on the floor.

His face coloured in embarassment as he realised that he had been in the throes of a nightmare. Acquila had probably seen him thrashing and screaming like a madman. Damn! How had he fallen asleep? Why the hell did it have to have been Acquila, who had found him in the midst of a nightmare?

"I'm sorry...I was just-" The words caught in his throat as he finally looked closely at his daughter and realised that Acquila had turned completely pale. Her face had an inscrutinable expression on it, before she put her arms on her hips and glared at him angrily.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

"Uhhh….tell you what?" he asked her, trying to act ignorant.

"As if you don't know what I'm talking about!" she responded.

"I don't know…" he muttered, before shrinking back at her furious glare.

Damn! He was _her _father! Not the other way round! Why the hell was he shrinking back at her rage? He realised with a sudden pang of pain in his heart that Acquila looked just like Athena used to look when she was furious with him…when Sirius came back punch-drunk from the pub, or when James and he had played the prank on McGonagall at the order meeting.

Acquila had had the same expression of indignant fury on her face…just that with Acquila's Sirius-like features, it seemed different. So his little girl did indeed have some traits of his beloved wife…a little bit of Athena in the way she put her hands on her hips…the way she towered over him…the way she tapped her foot on the floor in impatience as she waited for his answer.

He chuckled despite himself.

"What are you laughing at?" demanded a bewildered Acquila. One moment, her father seemed to cower back against her rage, and the next moment, he was chuckling for no apparent reason! Had the nightmare addled his brains?

She screamed, "REMUS! HA-"

Sirius' sudden silencing charm had her voice dying in her throat.

"Don't call for them!" he said, still chuckling, before a swish of his wand negated the silencing charm.

"Are you alright? Are you ill? Do you have a fever? And what was that silencing charm for?" she demanded, before kneeling down onto the floor beside him and putting her hand on his stubbled cheek to check for a temperature. Had her father caught some weird magical fever that had turned him delirious, perhaps?

"I'm alright, sweetheart," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet as he stood up as well.

"Why did you start laughing suddenly, then?"

"Because you reminded me of Athena," he replied softly.

"I did?" she asked him. This was the first time that someone had told her that she had something of her mother in her.

"Yes…she used to get angry with me in a similar way…tapping her foot on the floor as you were…" he said.

_'And we used to make up in a rather loving manner,'_ he added in his mind; not that he would ever tell his daughter of the many tricks he had up his sleeve to melt Athena's anger. He remembered that Acquila had been conceived on one such rather _angry_ evening. He smiled smugly at the memory of those rather exhausting hours, till he heard Acquila's loud shout.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"Sorry…I was just lost in thought…"

"Are you sure you aren't ill?"

"I swear I'm not ill," he replied.

"Why did you never tell me that you get nightmares of Pettigrew killing Mom?" she asked him, and beneath her anger, Sirius could sense the hurt at having hidden the matter from her.

"Hey!" he said softly, leading her to a chair as he sat down opposite her.

"That's why you sleep in your Dog form, don't you? Because the nightmares don't affect you as much when you're a Dog?"

"Well…yes…but it's nothing you need to worry about," he put in hastily.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked him again.

"Because it isn't something you need to know…I didn't want to bother you…or make you worry about me…"

"You don't trust me!" she cut in.

"What? Of course not! I do trust you!" he exclaimed.

"You would have told me if you trusted me! You helped me when I got nightmares about Quirrell and Voldemort? I could have helped you as well!"

"You can't help me, Acquila," he muttered. "I've got horrors in my past that you can't even begin to fathom."

"Then help me understand!" came the indignant reply.

"You're too young for that, darling-"

"Young? You think I'm young to understand? Do you know what I saw when the Dementors attacked Harry and me? I saw Mom scream at Pettigrew! And she tried to take out her wand! But he killed her! And I fell onto the ground with her! And then he pointed his wand at me as well, before he disappeared! And then I kept crying because Mom wouldn't wake up! And-"

"Oh, sweetheart," said Sirius as he pulled Acquila into his arms, and wiped off hot tears from her face. She hadn't even realised that she had been crying at the remembrance of that memory…the helpless feeling she could feel her infant self feeling when her mother wouldn't wake up…her mother's scream as she fell lifeless onto the ground…

"Why did you never tell me of any of this?" he asked her softly.

"Why should I when _you_ never tell me anything?" she snapped, as her tears made an abrupt departure and her grey eyes that had darkened with rage glared at him.

"You're _my_ daughter for heavens' sake! And I don't want you to know of the horrors that I dream of! The Dementors gliding over me! James and Lily lying dead! Failing to save Voldemort's victims in Auror missions! Failing to save Athena! You won't understand! And I don't want you to understand! I want you to live a happy, carefree life… not spend your days haunted by the demons in _my_ nightmares! Is that too much to ask for? To see you happy? To give you a better life than I ever had?" demanded Sirius earnestly.

"Alright…don't tell me," she replied softly, not wanting to argue with Sirius and give him more pain.

"I love you a lot, Acquila," he said gently, knowing that he had hurt her by declining to share his thoughts with her; but glad that she hadn't pressed the matter further.

"I love you too, Dad," she whispered. "Now can I tell you what I had come here for?"

"Of course, love," he replied.

"Let's plan something for Harry's birthday!" she exclaimed excitedly and Sirius smiled at the happy glint in her grey eyes, before proceeding to plan for Harry's upcoming birthday.

**xxx**

Rita Skeeter took a large gulp from the tall glass of Firewhisky that Billy placed before her. She mumbled a curt thanks to Billy, who worked for Madam Rosmerta at the Hog's Head; and he seemed rather surprised at Rita's coldness. After all, Billy was used to Rita coming over at least a couple of times a month to catch up with the latest gossip- who came to the Hog's Head with whom, who blabbered what when they were drunk, and the like. And with a lot of well-known people like the band mates of the Weird Sisters, and even some Quidditch players coming to the Hog's Head to catch up with their Hogwarts schoolmates, Billy was the best person from whom Rita got the information for most of her news articles.

As she took another swig of the Firewhisky, she thought of the apology that she had been forced to tender in the Daily Prophet.

_"Mister Black has demanded that you apologise! If I hadn't called in sick that day, the article would never even have been allowed to be published! I don't even understand how Donald gave the go-ahead for the article to be printed!"_

That was what her boss, Barnabas Willoughby had told her. Of course, Willoughby had no idea that at all that all that had been needed to convince Donald -the deputy editor- to publish the article, had been a wee bit of seduction.

_"And how could you even write such stuff about Harry Potter without tangible evidence to back it up? He's the Boy-who-lived for Merlin's sake! And Mister Black's Godson as well! You can't go around falsely attributing quotes to him!"_

Despite Rita's best efforts to convince the foolish editor-in-chief, that though Potter might not have said the exact words, the article had achieved its goal: to grab eye-balls and increase the sales of the Prophet; Willoughby had stood firm on his words.

_"I cannot get into Mister Black's bad books! He's the richest wizard in Britain! And the most popular one at present! And he's the Head of the Blacks! Neither the Prophet, nor I, can afford to antagonize him! He can sue us for publishing things about Potter!"_

Rita had tried to tell Willoughby, that there wasn't any need to fear Sirius Black. After all, a few more negative articles about him, and public goodwill wouldn't rest with him anymore. And it would be Rita, who would be lauded for revealing things about Black. Plus, the Prophet existed to sell itself; not to bend to Black's will! And if to encourage sales (and to further Rita's career), a few not-so-true things about Black and Potter were to be printed, it was worth the risk of getting into Black's bad books. But Willoughby, who had never been as ambitious as Rita was, had stuck to his stand.

_"_I_ am the editor, Miss Skeeter! And you _will_ listen to what I say! I have already written out the wording of the apology. All I need is for you to sign it. The apology will be sent to Mister Black by owl post, as well as published in the morning edition of the Prophet! And you will not be covering anything related to the Blacks or Potter henceforth."_

What Willoughby hadn't said, but what Rita had understood all the same, was that she wouldn't be getting the expected pay-raise, nor the promotion which she had been looking forward to.

"Bastard!" she muttered under her breath.

She had worked with Witch Weekly for years, till the Prophet had finally noticed her and sought to employ her. It had been her dream, her childhood dream to work to see her name published under a Daily Prophet report! Of course, the Witch Weekly was a well-known publication too, but the Prophet was read by everybody, not just stay-at-home witches who loved their cup of gossip.

It was at the time of the First Wizarding War that she had begun working for the Prophet. And she had slowly risen up the ranks. And it was her aim to one day replace Willoughby, and become the editor of the Prophet herself. And she was certainly on the path to achieving her aim, especially since her recent articles had attracted attention.

But Black had thwarted all her hopes, all her aims. And she couldn't even write anything about Black in other publications, because news about her talk with Willoughby would surely have spread far and wide in journalistic circles. After all, who knew better than Rita herself, about how quickly a single piece of news could spread?

So now all that she could do, was stick to writing her usual articles on who was dating whom and who had broken up with whom. She would have to forget all about a pay-raise and a promotion till Willoughby would soften his stance, and till Black fell from the high pedestal that he was placed on by the public.

And the worst part was that she would have to maintain a low profile for at least the next few weeks, thanks to Black having been suspicious of how she had managed to sneak into the Black Cemetery.

_"Look, Miss Skeeter, I have always wondered about how you get inside information on the matters that you write on. But this time, I fear that you have crossed a certain line. Mister Black was extremely keen on knowing how you managed to get close enough to his daughter and Godson to listen in to their conversation. And I must warn you that I am certain that Mister Black isn't done with this matter yet. He cares for Potter's safety, not that I blame him of course. He's the Boy-Who-lived, and he needs to be protected from You-Know-Who's former followers. And Mister Black would want to reach to the bottom of this matter to ascertain how you managed to get past the wards on the Cemetery. And I deeply hope that you haven't resorted to any illegal means to obtain information; because I am quite sure that Mister Black wouldn't think twice before seeing you in Azkaban."_

Damn Black! And damn his bloody nosiness!

Rita, of course, had no intention of letting anyone- especially Sirius Black- know of her illegal Animagus form. If she kept a low profile for a few days, Black would probably immerse himself into other matters- like caring for his poor godson- and forget all about her intrusion into the Cemetery. And so, she would go out of the country for a few weeks, till Black cooled down. And she would also refrain from writing about Black for a few months.

But she was down, but not beaten. Sooner or later, she knew that Black would fall from grace. And it would be that day, that Rita would get her vengeance. She would write articles about him that would have him running for cover from the public glare…articles that would not only make Rita the best-known and in-demand journalist in Britain, but also let Sirius Black know what exactly happened to people who crossed Rita and her Quill.

**xxx**

"I can't wait to learn new spells!" said Acquila happily as Harry and she walked towards the room that Sirius had marked for their training the next morning.

"Me too!" responded Harry enthusiastically. Wasn't this exactly what he had been waiting for? Magic! Magic that would help him present an improved and challenging front the next time he faced Voldemort.

"I want to learn the spell that-" Harry's voice caught in his throat as he stared the sight that met them when they entered the dueling room. If Harry had been Ron, he would have probably let out a flurry of curses to express his shock and astonishment; curses that would have made Molly wash his mouth with soap. But all that Harry did was stare at the sight before him in speechless wonder, as Acquila, who stood beside him let out a gasp of astonishment.

Remus stood facing a smugly smiling Sirius, their wands pointing at each other. But what shocked Harry was the sphere of water that Remus stood within.

The werewolf seemed to choke, unable to breathe through the water.

"Remus!" he heard Acquila cry, but both Sirius and Remus ignored her as the former stared at the latter, till Remus suddenly waved his wand and a bubble of air appeared around his head, allowing him to breathe.

"Bubble head charm!" Harry heard Acquila whisper.

"Stupefy!" Sirius shouted, but Remus screamed "Protego!" shielding himself from the spell, before he waved his wand in a complicated motion that threw off all the water that surrounded him, and it fell on Harry and Acquila and drenching them thoroughly.

"Is that all you've got, Padfoot?" chuckled Remus.

"Expelliarmus!" came the shout from Sirius, followed by two non-verbal spells in quick succession which Remus dodged effortlessly, while pushing away the wet hair that stuck to his forehead.

As he diverted the fourth spell that Sirius sent, he followed it up with a spell of his own.

"Genero Nebula!" cried Remus, as a grey jet of light emanated from his wand and sped towards Sirius, who sent a spell to divert the spell, but missed.

Harry gasped as the spell created a thick mist around Sirius, making it impossible for him to see anything.

"Tallantalegra! Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy!" Remus sent spell after spell into the mist that contained Sirius, but the Animagus seemed to have avoided all the spells that were sent towards him, because Harry heard the sound of deft footsteps on the floor. And though he couldn't see Sirius through the mist, he knew that his Godfather was fighting back, as he saw jets of spells being sent towards Remus as well.

"Venturo!" Sirius' voice rang out wide and clear, and before Harry knew what was happening, large gusts of wind flew from Sirius towards Remus, and the thick mist blew towards Remus, surrounding him and impeding his vision.

"How's that, Mooney?" chuckled Sirius as he continued sending spells into the mist, but Remus responded with his own, till finally the mist cleared.

"Congelo!" Sirius' spell broke through the shield charm that Remus had put up and hit him right in his chest. And Harry almost choked on his own breath as he saw a large block of ice appearing around Remus, freezing him to the bone and making him unable to move even a muscle.

Harry knew that Remus was trying to free his wand arm but the thick ice he was covered with made it impossible to do so. Harry wondered how Remus was able to breathe; and he inwardly felt a tiny flicker of fear for his father's friend before realising that Sirius would never hurt Remus.

"Do you give up, Remmy?" smirked Sirius.

Remus couldn't reply of course, but his amber eyes blazed with amusement. And a moment later, he somehow managed to raise the arm that held his wand, shattering the ice around it.

"Damn! Werewolf strength!" Sirius grumbled under his breath, before his eyes widened as he realised that Harry and Acquila may have heard him. He had noticed them earlier of course, but he had ignored them, preferring to centre his attention on the duel. But when he turned his neck sideways to look at them, they seemed not to have heard him as their eyes were centered on Remus in amazement.

And the split second of distraction was all it took for Remus' spell to hit the nape of his neck, severing his hair that he had tied up in a pony tail. As the locks of his jet-black hair fell onto the ground along with the band that he had elegantly tied them up with, Sirius let out a bull-like bellow.

"What the hell, Remmy! My...my hair..." Sirius sputtered as he gaped at the hair that lay at his feet, while Remus chuckled.

"You can always grow it back magically," he quipped.

"But I prefer my hair growing naturally, you prat! You're going to pay for this, Lupin!" he growled, though his eyes had a merry glint in them.

A number of successive spells sprung from Sirius' wand, giving Remus no time to block or dodge some of them and a split second later, one of the spells found its mark and Remus' sandy hair stood up on end, having turned a shocking shade of pink.

Acquila and Harry sniggered at the look of disgust on Remus' face as he pulled down a strand of his now-pink hair, staring at it in distaste; while Sirius guffawed loudly.

"Not this shade of pink again, Padfoot! You're going to regret this!" muttered Remus as he sent a jinx at Sirius, which the Animagus dodged and sent a spell of his own in return.

The exchange of spells took place at such a speed, that Harry felt his eyes ache at being constantly forced to look at either opponent. Till finally, Acquila shouted aloud, "ENOUGH!"

And both the Marauders stopped as Harry laughed at the sight of them.

Sirius had a dog's muzzle instead of his mouth, while large wings that probably would have looked better on the bat-like Snape flapped on either side of his back.

Remus meanwhile, had pink robes to match his hair, while his skin had turned florescent green.

"We'll continue this later, Sirius," smirked Remus as he sent a few quick spells towards Sirius, bringing him and his hair back to normal, while he then moved his wand over himself, before a long look at his green hands.

"Florescent green, Padfoot? Seriously?" he muttered.

"I'm always Sirius, Mooney," winked Sirius as Remus groaned.

"Not that joke again, Padfoot! It got old within twenty minutes of us sitting in the Hogwarts Express in our first year!"

"Hey! That joke never gets old!" protested Sirius.

"Merlin! You're such a-" started Remus, before Acquila cut in, "I though both of you were going to train Harry and me in magic!"

"Of course we are, Acquila. Sirius and I were just warming up," said Remus. "Sirius even got Mopsy to get this room ready for us."

It was then that Harry looked around at the room and noticed that the room looked larger than it had from outside. All the furniture that he remembered it had earlier contained had been removed and the whole room was empty.

"Magic-absorbing walls," Remus pointed at the walls. "We don't want any stray spells to bring down the ceiling, do we?" he smiled.

"Why does the room look larger than it should?" asked Acquila.

"It's an expansion charm," said Remus. "You'll learn it at Hogwarts." Remus answered.

"So…is this how you are going to teach us to duel? With water and ice and-" Harry trailed off.

"Oh no, kiddo! You can't use such flashy spells in a real duel; you barely have time to breathe when you're fighting an enemy, let alone use such spells. Remmy and I were just having some fun," winked Sirius.

"Only if your idea of fun is almost freezing your friend to death," said Remus in amusement.

"Oh come on, Remmy! I would have taken off the spell if I thought your life was at risk! And what about you cutting off my hair, eh? You know how much I value my hair! They add to my charm, you see?" smirked Sirius as he ran his fingers through his now-grown hair as Remus rolled his eyes.

"Charming? You?"

"Of course! How do you think I managed to get Athena to date me? It was all because of my charming personality and my handsome looks," said Sirius smugly.

"Is it? And I thought she gave in, because you kept pining for her, following her around like the dog that you are, before she finally took pity on you and agreed to date you!" chuckled Remus.

"You followed Mom around school?" exclaimed Acquila.

"Of course not, love. Ignore Uncle Mooney…he's just exaggerating!" said Sirius off-handedly.

"Exaggerating? Me? Then what about the day the Ravenclaw prefect found you in the Athena's dormitory because-"

"Hey! If you start with that, I can very well tell them about Mary McDonald! And the sickeningly sweet letter she had sent you saying that-"

"Sirius! If you utter another word about the letter, I'll tell them about the day you-"

"Are you both ever going to get started with teaching us?" exclaimed Acquila loudly as Sirius seemed to collect himself, while Remus' pale face coloured.

"They're right, Sirius. Let's start with it-"

"Yes. But this discussion isn't over, Mooney. Especially Mary's letter," said Sirius teasingly as they both walked to the centre of the room.

"By the way, Dad," said Acquila suddenly, "Dora would have loved the bright pink that you gave Remus' hair! She loves morphing her hair pink!" she said as Sirius started chuckling madly, while Remus seemed unnaturally flustered.

Harry looked at Sirius and Remus in confusion. Why was Sirius laughing uncontrollably? Acquila had just said that Dora liked her hair pink! So why was he laughing? And why was Remus glaring at Sirius?

"Now, kids," said Sirius finally after Remus had threatened to hex him again if he didn't stop laughing, "Remmy and I are going to teach you the disarming spell today. And as the name suggests, if you perform the spell correctly, your opponent's wand will fall out of his hand. It's a very basic spell, but you need to understand that in a battle, even the most basic of spells will help you fight your opponent. Even a simple spell like Silencio will impede your opponent's spells if he's bad at non-verbal magic. The split second that he uses to negate the silencing charm might be more than enough for you to send a stunning spell at him. Let's begin now. And remember to keep in mind what we teach you."

"Sirius," said Remus, his eyebrow arched.

"Oh yes, former Prefect Remus here, wants me to tell both of you that you'd better not break any school rules. You are not to use the spells against your fellow students at Hogwarts. I beg to disagree though," grinned Sirius as Remus groaned.

"You can use the spells against any Slytherins, especially Malfoy!"

Dad!" protested Acquila, while Harry sniggered.

"I was joking, love. I know you won't misuse your knowledge."

"Enough with the speech, Padfoot. Let's start with the practical spells. You were never good at speeches and nor are you now," said Remus.

"Oi! My pep-talks before our pranks used to be so inspiring!" said Sirius with an air of pride.

"Inspiring? Wormtail and I couldn't-" Remus stopped suddenly, as he realised that he had mentioned Peter, and the smile on Sirius' face slipped to be replaced by a look of anger.

"I shouldn't have said-" started Remus, but Sirius cut him off.

"It's alright, Remmy. Let's start with the spells now. Acquila, we'd prefer you performing the spell wandlessly. Minnie tells me that you still have quite a lot to learn about controlling your magic. Remus will work with you. Harry, you're with me. Come on," he said, as he led Harry to the end of the room, while Acquila want to the other end with Remus.

"Where's your wand, Harry? Back-pocket? Don't ever let Mad-Eye see you with your wand in the back pocket of your jeans," chuckled Sirius.

"Why?" asked Harry curiously.

"He'll lecture you on the wizard that lost his buttock when he kept his wand in his pocket," winked Sirius, as Harry paled.

"Now," continued Sirius. "Hold your wand…Nah! Don't grip it like that! Hold it firmly and steadily, so that you can aim easily at your target... Yes! That's the perfect grip…just bring your thumb a little lower, helps you with the complicated wand movements for advanced spells…" Sirius explained, as he showed Harry the best way to hold a wand, just as Charlus Potter had taught him, before turning around to walk back to stand opposite Harry.

Mid-way through his walk, he turned around suddenly, his wand pointing at Harry's hand that held the wand. And before Harry knew what was happening, Sirius shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and Harry's wand came zooming into Sirius hand.

"I _told_ you to hold it firmly," smirked Sirius as he threw the Phoenix wand back at Harry, who caught it unerringly.

"Now," said Sirius, as Harry gripped his wand as firmly as he could. "The incantation, as you heard me say, is 'Expelliarmus'. I'll do it once more, and then you try it."

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Sirius, and Harry's wand slipped through his hand, though he managed to catch hold of it by the very tips of his fingers.

"You're quite a fast learner, Harry! Just like Lily was," grinned Sirius as Harry felt a sudden warmth spread through him at being likened to his mother.

"Now! You try it," said Sirius. "You got the incantation and the wand movement, didn't you?"

Harry nodded, as he pointed his wand at Sirius.

"Expelliarmus!"

Sirius' wand just jerked a little in his hand, as Harry's face fell.

"It's rare for people to get it right on the first try, kiddo. So wipe that gloomy look off your face and try it again," Sirius urged him encouragingly, as Harry nodded while sneaking a look at Acquila, who seemed to be struggling with it as well.

"Expelliarmus!" said Harry again, as Sirius' wand gave a stronger jerk this time, but it still didn't fall out of his hand.

"Once more!" said Sirius, and as Harry heard a 'well done' from Remus, he turned to the other end of the room, to see Remus' wand lying on the floor at Acquila's feet. Acquila smiled brightly as Remus looked impressed, and Harry turned back to face Sirius again.

"When you perform a spell you have to _mean_ it, Harry. Magic is within you, it belongs to you, it's waiting to mould and perform as you tell it to. So concentrate on the spell, urge your magic to perform your bidding!" said Sirius, "And it will respond to you, as long as you mean it."

Harry nodded, his mind processing Sirius' advice. He pointed his wand at Sirius, and this time he uttered the spell with great determination, just as Sirius had told him to, and Sirius' wand came flying through the air, before Harry lunged forward and caught it in his outstretched hand.

"My, my! No wonder Minnie made you a seeker despite being a first year!" whistled Sirius, as he remembered Harry's Quidditch matches that he had seen in his Dog form, hidden in the bushes near the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.

"Now all you need is a bit of practice to perfect the spell," said Sirius as Harry threw his wand back to him.

They practiced for an hour more, switching partners from time to time, and Harry discovered that Remus seemed to be an excellent teacher.

"I think that's enough for the day," said Remus finally.

"Yes," put in Sirius. "The disarming spell is quite a basic spell, but in real duels, your opponent won't be waiting for you to attack him; he'll be constantly attacking you instead. And it was easy for both of you to disarm us because we were standing unmoved in one position, but in true battle, it won't be as simple to disarm your opponents as they'll be moving continuously. And you need a good aim and agility for that."

"Tomorrow, we'll teach you the shield charm," said Remus, "to help shield you from oncoming curses."

"Yup! Now do you have any questions?" Sirius asked in a professor-like manner and Harry put his hand up in a rather good imitation of Hermione.

"Yes, Mister Potter," said Sirius.

"Can we tell Ron and Hermione that you're training us to duel?" asked Harry asked as Acquila nodded.

"Sure you can!" Came the reply.

As they left the room Acquila walked next to Sirius.

"The training was fun, Dad."

"This was a simple spell, Acquila. But Remmy and I intend to teach you a number of spells, and it'll get tougher with time. I might even call Mad-Eye once. You'll love learning under him," he chuckled.

"But…but he trains Aurors, doesn't he?" asked Acquila, as she remembered the gruff man she had met at the ball at Malfoy Manor.

"Yes, he does, which is exactly why I would like him teaching Harry and you. He's my mentor, you know. One of the best duelists I've ever seen in action. And he puts his trainees through a rigorous programme. Trainees join the Auror programme after their graduation so they know most of the spells. Auror training concentrates more on how alert you are and how you can think on your toes. There are many wizards who are good at Defense against the Dark Arts but only a few of them manage to become good Aurors. Because being an Auror is a field job and not many wizards are brave or capable enough to face real dangers," said Sirius, before falling silent. How had he started talking about being an Auror, when all Acquila had spoken about was the training?

"Being an Auror seems tough, Dad. Do you think Dora will be able to be one?"

"I'm sure she will. She is street smart and quite good with her wand, though I'm sure Mad-Eye won't appreciate her clumsiness. But she's alert, and that's a plus point for her. And that's an important thing. As Mad-Eye would put it, 'Constant Vigilance'!", said Sirius in a very good imitation of his mentor.

"Oh yes! He told me the same thing at the Ball when I hadn't carried my wand. But…he did seem quite scary," said Acquila.

"Oh, he's scary alright. But he's a real softie at heart beneath all his gruffness. And he's an excellent teacher," Sirius said fondly, remembering his days under Mad-Eye Moody.

And it was then that Sirius realised that he missed being an Auror, he missed the missions, the adrenaline rush that came when he was in the face of death, the feeling of satisfaction when he captured a death-eater, or saved a fellow Auror from certain death.

It was strange, but nothing had made him feel more alive than walking out on a mission, knowing that he might not come back alive.

"You miss being an Auror, don't you?" asked Acquila softly.

"I do," he replied, surprising even himself with his admission. "But I'm happy playing a father to my kids now," he smiled, as he kissed her forehead.

He knew that he ached to get back onto the field, to fight the dark forces. But that could wait for now. He had got his daughter and Godson back after more than a decade. And taking care of them seemed more important than fulfilling his dreams.

**xxx**

"Sirius?" said Harry as he sat reading a copy of the Daily Prophet that evening. Harry had never really been someone who read newspapers, but since the report written by Rita Skeeter had been published, he preferred taking a quick look at the papers to ensure that nothing had been written about Sirius or him. Not that public opinion mattered much to him, but he didn't want anyone to say anything unsavoury about his Godfather.

"Yes, Harry?" said Sirius, as he looked up from the book that he had been reading. Sirius never really liked reading. Reading was better left to people like Lily and Athena and Remus. Sirius preferred doing other things- like fighting duels and playing pranks. And he was glad that Harry had given him an excuse to keep aside the lengthy book, which seemed to have nothing in it about Soul Bonds anyway.

"Uh…I was wondering if you could tell me about Malfoy's dad and you…your enmity," he replied hesitantly.

"Why this, all of a sudden, kiddo?" asked Sirius, though Harry noticed the angry glint that flitted in his Godfather's eyes at the mention of Malfoy Senior. Acquila, who was writing a letter to Hermione, placed her quill aside and looked at the two black-haired males.

"I read a report in the Prophet which said that Lucius Malfoy and you have had an enmity since the time you joined the Aurors…and I noticed you talking to him at Aunt Cassiopeia's funeral. And though you were coldly cordial to the other people that you said were death-eaters, you seemed to detest Malfoy completely-"

"'Detest' isn't a word that's strong enough to convey what I feel for Malfoy," said Sirius calmly, though Harry could very well sense the burning anger in Sirius' tone.

"As I told you that night, Harry, if there's one thing Malfoy would want the most, it's to see me dead…killed at his hands if he can manage it," remarked Sirius.

"I know that, but you didn't tell me why! You seem to hate all death-eaters, but I think you hate Malfoy more than all of them put together…is it because of what happened with the McKinnons?" Harry asked him softly, not wanting to hurt his Godfather and Acquila by talking of the McKinnons death, but wanting to know _why_ it was that Sirius and Lucius Malfoy shared such an intense mutual loathing.

"I can never forgive him for what he did to Athena's parents and Marlene," snarled Sirius, and though Harry knew that his anger wasn't directed at him, he felt a sudden chill down his spine at the fury in Sirius' voice.

"Lucius Malfoy and I go far further back in time than that," muttered Sirius.

"Malfoy started hating me since the very first time we dueled. I was just a trainee that time. Currently, the training period for Aurors is three years, but that time, with the war going on and Auror casualties increasing, the training period was a mere three months. Mad-Eye somehow managed to squeeze in the three-year training schedule into a three month one. And we had been trained for merely a month, when we had to go on a mission. It was a ruse set up by the death-eaters…and most of the senior Aurors were at another location, when we got a floo call saying that death-eaters were attacking a Muggle village. Mad-Eye, Jamie, Claire Marks, Brian Lee, and me were the only Aurors present at the Auror office. Hell, Claire, Jamie and I weren't even Aurors then…a month of training doesn't teach you much…and we had never been in an actual duel with death-eaters. Mad-Eye didn't want to take us, but there wasn't any other alternative available…and so we apparated there…and you know how I was…arrogant and cocky and excessively confident. And with rumours doing the rounds that I was excellent at combative dueling and would soon be a top-notch Auror, my head was rather inflated," Sirius chuckled wryly.

"I thought it would be easy…not exactly a walk in the park, but I thought I would be able to beat them-"

"And my Dad?" asked Harry.

"Oh, James was confident as well, but since Dad…I mean Charlus was an Auror, Jamie knew how tough battling death-eaters was…and he wasn't as over-confident as I was," smiled Sirius. "So well, we reached the village, only to be met by twenty death-eaters! It was five of us against twenty! And Mad-Eye alone took down ten of them! I've never seen him duel like he did that day! We lost Claire though," said Sirius softly, remembering the young girl who had tried to flirt with James on numerous occasions, only to have him rejecting her advances each time.

"And Lee was injured…and so it was only Mad-Eye, Jamie and me against the remaining six death-eaters. Mad-eye dueled four of them at a time, while Jamie and I took on one each. And the one I faced was Lucius Malfoy."

_ "Suffocus!"_

_Lucius Malfoy's spell hit Sirius right on his throat, and he couldn't breathe anymore. His hand clutched helplessly at his throat, willing himself to breathe, while the other hand that held his wand, flailed wildly, sending random non-verbal spells._

_"I wonder what the blood-traitor will say when she sees her lover's body lying in a tortured heap in front of her house," he heard Lucius' drawling voice, but he hardly registered the words as his brain pined for oxygen._

_This was the end of him. Sirius _knew_ that this was the end. But he hadn't expected to go off like this! He knew he would die someday, of course. The Auror Department had a mortality rate of 65%. And Sirius knew that some day or the other, he would be in the 65% that would succumb to Voldemort's cronies. The law of averages always caught up with everyone. _

_But he hadn't expected to die like this! He could see his vision dotting with black spots, as the suffocating spell that Malfoy had sent at him made him feel as if he was being smothered by a pillow…made him unable to either take in oxygen, or let out the breath that still remained within him. He was going to die! And that too, on his very first mission as a trainee Auror! He was going to die at the hands of his own cousin's bigoted husband, not in a blaze of glory taking down as many death-eaters as he could with him…_

_He felt a slashing hex hitting his chest, while another slashed at his stomach, and he vaguely felt the front of his newly-sewn trainee robes dampening with his own blood… not that it mattered, now that he was dying. The pain in his chest was nothing compared to his entire body screaming for oxygen. Just as he was about to crumple to the floor, he heard a gut-wrenching scream._

_"SIRIUS!"_

_He would recognise that voice anywhere. It was James._

_"You bastard! CRUCIO!" he heard James send a spell at Malfoy, and he heard the 'thunk' of Malfoy falling down to the ground and screaming in pain, before the screaming stopped abruptly and James' calloused hands were cradling his face, while Sirius coughed; his lungs burning with the sudden flow of oxygen into them._

_"Padfoot! Are you alright? Breathe, Sirius!" he heard James' panicked voice._

_"Noble cowards like you shouldn't use spells like the Cruciatus against me, Potter," snarled Malfoy. James using an unforgivable against Malfoy was a testament of how much he loved Sirius. Because James, the ever-righteous prat would never have used a curse having even a semblance of dark magic against anyone, even a death-eater._

_"Black! Potter! What the hell are you doing? Stand up and fight! Stupefy!" they heard Mad-Eye Moody shout at them, before he sent a red jet of light at one of the four death-eaters that were dueling with him._

_Sirius stood up gingerly, while James was already up in a trice, all the while sending spells at Malfoy and Avery, who had now joined him._

_"I'll take Malfoy, Sirius—Protego—you take the other one—" screamed James in the midst of blocking a killing curse by a mere inch._

_"NO—Petrificus Totalus!—Malfoy—Stupefy!—is mine!" Sirius shrieked, till a loud shout of 'Sangius Prehendo!' from Avery had James screaming in pain._

_"You bloody bastard! STUPEFY!" Sirius sent a powerful spell that had Avery crumpling to the ground._

_Sangius Prehendo was a dark spell that caused blood to be pulled out of an existing wound, making the person die of blood loss. And James, who had suffered three wounds, was bleeding profusely from his arm, forehead and ankle._

_"MAD-EYE! SAVE JAMES!" Sirius screamed at his mentor, who was dueling two death-eaters at a time as Sirius shielded James' unconscious form with his own to protect him from any stray spells._

_But in his bid to shield James, he completely ignored Malfoy who sent the Cruciatus at him._

_"CRUCIO!"_

_"Aaaaaargh!"_

_Sirius crumpled to the ground as the curse hit his back, screaming in pain, till the pain suddenly stopped, though he was still woozy from the after-effects._

_"Send him back with the portkey!" Sirius heard Mad-Eye scream, as he rolled over to narrowly avoid the entrail-expelling curse that Malfoy sent at him._

_But as he rolled over, it gave Malfoy a clear shot at James' motionless body._

_"AVADA—" he heard Malfoy point his wand at James' prostrate form and scream._

_"ACCIO JAMES!" Sirius screamed at the same time as Malfoy said, "KEDAVRA!" and as James zoomed towards Sirius, the green jet of light missed him by mere centimeters._

_"AVADA KEDAVRA!" screamed Malfoy again, his wand pointed at Sirius now, but before the spell could hit him, James' body disappeared as Sirius slid the golden chain, which was an emergency portkey to St. Mungos around his neck, dodging Malfoy's spell simultaneously._

_"How dare you try to kill James! Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy! Sectumsempra! Argutus!" Sirius sent spell after spell at Malfoy, ignoring the acute pain in his bleeding stomach and chest. Later, he would realise that his anger against Lucius was the only thing that had kept him on his feet in his bleeding state._

_But Malfoy, who was relatively uninjured and quick on his feet dodged Sirius' spells with minimum effort. _

_"LATEX SOLUM!" Sirius sent the spell that the Marauders had once used to prank unsuspecting Slytherins, not at Malfoy, but at the patch of ground just beneath his feet, which turned into quicksand, and a shocked Malfoy started sinking into it rapidly, before he finally gathered his wits and cast the counter-curse, and the land turned solid again as Malfoy stumbled to his feet, narrowly avoiding Sirius' slashing curse._

_"BATTUO!" shrieked Sirius again, as the bludgeoning curse hit Malfoy's wand arm and he screamed in pain._

_"Petrificus Totalus!" he screamed, but Malfoy dodged the curse; his uninjured hand clutching at the bleeding arm that was throbbing in pain._

_"You will pay for this, Black! CRUCIO!"  
Sirius ducked to avoid the curse, while sending a stunning hex at Malfoy, which hit his hastily cast shield._

_"Is that all you can do, Malfoy?" Sirius laughed mirthlessly, as a stunning hex missed Malfoy again, while Sirius dodged another Crutiatus._

_"Don't stun him, Black! KILL HIM!" Sirius heard Mad-Eye shout at him._

_"Ha ha ha! An eighteen year-old! Killing me?" Malfoy's sneering voice sounded loud and clear to Sirius amidst the shouts of Mad-Eye and the remaining death-eater' verbal spells._

_"I am Sirius Black! And don't commit—Reducto!—the mistake of underestimating me, Malfoy!" shouted Sirius, as he struggled for breath; the front of his robes seemed heavy as they were completely soaked in his blood._

_"OSTRO ABEO!" yelled Sirius and the curse hit Malfoy in his leg and he collapsed onto the ground, screaming loudly as his bone-less leg flopped uselessly within his robes._

_"You bloody—" Malfoy started, unable to stand up only on the leg which still had all bones in place._

_"Sectumsempra!" Sirius' spell hit Malfoy right in his chest, as he screamed aloud._

_A stinging hex went next, followed by a slashing hex again, all of them shattering Malfoy's weak shields, till finally Malfoy lay bleeding on the ground, unable to move through the pain, though his wand was still gripped tightly in his hand._

_"EXPELLIARMUS!" screamed Sirius and Mafoy's wand came zooming into his hand._

_"Kill him, Black!" shouted Mad-Eye again as he battled the last remaining death-eater. "One bastard down!"_

_Sirius pointed his wand as Malfoy, as he felt his vision blurring again. He knew he wouldn't be able to remain conscious for long. Damn! Why did he always find himself in such situations?_

_He opened his mouth to utter the spell as time seemed to pass at an extremely slow pace._

_Could he really kill someone? He was just eighteen for heavens' sake! And he knew that being an Auror meant having to kill the bad guys, but could he really take a life? Did he have it in him to live with the guilt of having cut short a life, having destroyed a family; especially a family that belonged to Cissy, who no matter which side she was on now, had once been a cousin quite loved?_

_"Mercy…please, Mercy…" Malfoy pleaded, his face shining with perspiration, as he trembled in fear._

_"Think of Cissy, Black…you can't do this to her…"_

_"STOP LISTENING TO HIS WHIMPERING, BLACK! EITHER KILL HIM OR STUN HIM AND I'LL DO THE JOB WHEN I'M DONE DEALING WITH THIS ONE!" shouted a furious Mad-Eye, angry with his trainee for not following orders._

_"Mercy…please…don't kill me…"_

_Sirius raised his wand, his arm trembling despite himself; but he had barely opened his mouth when he felt a sudden change in the surroundings, and he was faced by none other than Voldemort, who appeared between Sirius and Malfoy._

_"Master! You came, Mast-" Malfoy's exclamation of glee was cut mid-word as Voldemort sent a silencing charm at him._

_"Not a word more, you coward!" he ordered Malfoy, who said no more._

_"Take the Portkey, Black!" shouted Mad-Eye, as the air was filled with 'cracks' of people apparating. Voldemort had brought his death-eaters with him; and Sirius suddenly found himself surrounded by ten men with their wands raised at him._

_He knew that he should have taken the portkey and gone back to the Auror office, but he stood rooted to the spot, as his eyes looked into Voldemort's red eyes for the very first time in his life._

_"Avada-" started a death-eater, but Voldemort diverted his spell._

_"Nobody will attack Black till I order you to," said Voldemort._

_"Black! Activate the bloody Portkey!" Mad-Eye shouted urgently, as he dueled five death-eaters, but Sirius stood his ground, pointing his wand at Voldemort's tall form; while the death-eaters surrounding him watched the scene between Voldemort and Sirius, ready to kill him when the command came._

_Sirius had faltered while even thinking of killing Malfoy. But he would be damned if he would run away from Voldemort with his tail between his legs. Wasn't this why he had joined the Aurors? To rid the world of Voldemort? And he knew that he didn't stand a chance against Voldemort and th ten death-eaters, but even if he managed to injure Voldemort, it would be a tiny victory in the war._

_"I'm impressed, Black. Just a teenager and such power, such courage! What wouldn't I give to have you join the ranks of my followers, Black," said Voldemort, as Sirius looked determinedly into his eyes._

_"BLACK!" Sirius heard Mad-Eye scream again, urging him to activate his portkey. Apparating was impossible of course, since anti-disapparition wards were in place._

_"I'll die before I join you, Voldemort!" spat Sirius, his wand at the ready, as his breaths came in slow gasps, while his stomach stung with agonising pain. And he saw Voldemort's red eyes glint with anger on seeing Sirius have the courage to utter Voldemort's name._

_"You dare utter my name! Be ready to face your end-"_

_"ACCIO SIRIUS BLACK!" _

_Sirius found himself zooming towards Mad-Eye, his limbs hitting the death-eaters in the vicinity._

_"NOOO! AVADA KE-" was the last that he heard before the portkey had him disappearing in a whirl of colours._

Harry's green eyes were wide as he gaped at Sirius. So _this_ was how it was to go out and fight Voldemort and his death-eaters. This was how it was to fight without caring for your life; fight despite being injured, despite being on the verge of unconsciousness; to have the courage to fire spells that could seriously maim and injure another human being.

"Why didn't you kill him when Mad-Eye told you to?" asked Harry softly.

"I wish I hadn't hesitated," muttered Sirius. "I could have saved so many lives that Malfoy took…you know, Harry," he said, looking at Harry again, "It's easy to duel with people you know…like when I dueled with Mooney today, or during training with Mad-Eye. But when you're in a _real_ duel, fighting people who are aiming to kill you, it's completely different! During training, we didn't duel to injure or kill…but when you're out in a real battle for the first time, you realise that every slashing hex you send is going to hurt a fellow human being, even if your opponent is an evil person …every bludgeoning hex if sent correctly has the ability to injure someone for life. And when it came to killing Malfoy that day…I just didn't have it in me to go forward knowing that I would be responsible for killing someone, that I would have to live with the guilt of having destroyed Cissy's life…when Malfoy was pleading for his life before me, I found it far easier to give in to his entreaties rather than send the spell that would snuff the life out of him…" he trailed off. "But then you learn with time. Each mission Jamie and I went on, taught us that even one single death-eater dead can go a long way in us winning the war as a whole. It takes just as much courage to battle your enemies as it takes to kill them. And though I hope that I would never have to see either of you having to fight a battle, remember that it's far better to kill a death-eater than regret not having killed him when he kills people you love."

Harry nodded, though his insides squirmed at the thought of even injuring someone, let alone taking a life.

"So Malfoy's dad hates you because-" he started, but Sirius cut him off.

"He hates me because I had it within my power to kill him that day. And he had to face the ignominy of having to plead for mercy, beg for his life before an eighteen-year old who was battling his first duel…and that's not all. Our spies within the Death-Eaters later told us that Malfoy was humiliated by Voldemort before all his followers-"

"Spies?" said Acquila.

"Yes. We did have a total of seven spies over the years who had managed to rise up the ranks and glean inside information about Voldemort…none of them lasted long of course. You can't lie to Voldemort about your loyalties and expect to live," said Sirius softly, thinking about Regulus, who had been killed for doing the same.

"Nevertheless…after that duel, Voldemort was incensed with Lucius. He supposedly cursed him so badly, that Malfoy was out of action for a week…and he lost his place as Voldy's right hand man to my dear cousin," muttered Sirius.

"Bellatrix Lestrange?" asked Acquila.

"Yes," replied Sirius. "And then well, Voldemort ordered Malfoy to capture me and bring me to him, either dead or alive…I think he wanted me alive for my pure bloodline possibly, or maybe because Bellatrix and Regulua were already in his fold and they were quite formidable with their magic. Voldemort probably thought I would be as good as them with magic and would make a good addition to his death-eaters. But Malfoy never managed to capture me, nor kill me, of course. And I'm sure his failure festered deeply within him. He attacked the McKinnons because Athena and I were supposed to be there that day. But a last minute change of plans, and we postponed visiting them. And Lucius killed Athena's parents and Marlene instead of us…Marlene was high on their hit-list, since even she was an Auror…but I'm sure the attack was meant to kill us," said Sirius bitterly.

"I wondered then about who gave away that Athena and I would be visiting McKinnon Manor that day…but now when I think of it, I realise that Pettigrew must have told Voldemort…" snarled Sirius angrily.

"Had they…had they seen me? My grandparents? Or did they die before I was born?" mumbled Acquila.

"Oh yes…Michelle and Leonard, your grandparents were there when you were born… they were killed in July 1981…just a few days before your first birthday…they loved you, of course…you were their first grandchild…though Leonard always rued the fact that you had inherited almost none of the McKinnon features," Sirius smiled.

"And Marlene…she loved you so much…made it a point to take an evening off every week just to spend time with you, despite her hectic schedule. She was going to marry Fabian Prewett, you know, your friend Ron's maternal uncle. They had even fixed the date for the wedding. Athena was going to be maid-of-honour and Gideon, Fabian's twin was going to be the Best Man. But well…Malfoy killed Marlene," mumbled Sirius sadly. "Fabian was almost killed himself that day…made with rage at Malfoy for having killed Marlene…fought with Malfoy like a lion…But Voldemort arrived and managed to whisk Malfoy away…Fabian was inconsolable after that…I'd never thought a cheerful man like him would turn so mellow…hardly smiled after Marlene's death. And then, Fabian and Gideon died soon after that. They were ambushed by death-eaters just outside their house. It was only the two of them against fourteen wizards…but they managed to take down eleven of them! But by the time we reached there, they were dead…we lost two of our best fighters that day…" muttered Sirius, his eyes seemed moist as he remembered the friends he had lost.

"Believe me, Acquila," he said suddenly, turning to his now white-faced, teary-eyed daughter. "I won't force you to stop talking to Draco," he spat the name as if it were a curse. "Because I know how it feels when parents force you to act against your own wishes. But my mind would be at peace if you avoided getting too close to Malfoy's son. I've seen more of the world than you have, I've lived through a war. I've seen how Lucius Malfoy is. And I'm certain that he isn't sitting idle twiddling his thumbs now. He hates me, and he will be fuming at the thought of me being a free man and reunited with Harry and you. And he will also have a score to settle with me because I thwarted his plans regarding publishing the report about Harry and the Dursleys. I'm sure he has already started planning my downfall. And I know that Malfoy isn't brave enough to attack me openly. And he knows that the best way to get even with me, is by harming either Harry or you. And Malfoy is a person who won't think twice before using his son to achieve his dark plans. So please, Acquila. Listen to me, and keep your distance with Draco."

As Acquila made to retort, Sirius help up a hand to silence her.

"I know what you are going to say, that I shouldn't judge Draco by his father's misdeeds. Narcissa told me the very same thing. And I myself, am a living example of how your family's beliefs can't shape you. But you need to understand that people like Andy and me had the courage to go against our family, our parents. I've observed Draco, and I can assure you that the boy is a lily-livered coward, who wouldn't dare to act against his father. If Lucius tells him to do something, he wouldn't have the guts to refuse him. And remember that it was his father who's tried to kill me on more occasions than I can count. He would have killed Jamie that day if I hadn't saved him. And he killed your grandparents, your aunt, and numerous other people who were in the Ord-" he stopped suddenly, realising that he had been about to mention the Order of the Phoenix, about which the children knew nothing.

"And he wouldn't think twice before harming either Harry or you for that matter, to settle scores with me. So, keep your guard against both Malfoy Senior and Draco," continued Sirius.

Harry gaped at his Godfather. The steely glint in his eyes told Harry why people thought that Sirius would have one day made a good Head of the Aurors; told him how Sirius had managed to escape Voldemort alive on four occasions. He then looked at Acquila, expecting her to protest, but to his immense surprise, she said nothing. She neither agreed with Sirius nor disagreed; though Harry could almost hear the cogs of her brain whirring as she debated the matter in her mind. But then, she stood up suddenly and walked towards Sirius, who seemed to be staring into space, his thoughts still centered on the McKinnons and the Prewetts. And she put her arms around her father, enveloping him in a hug.

"I'm sorry that…that you lost so many people you loved, Dad," she mumbled, and Harry knew that she wasn't just referring to the McKinnons, but Athena and Harry's own parents as well.

"That's what happens in a war, love," said Sirius gently as he caressed Acquila's head affectionately, before cupping her face with both his hands to make her look up at him.

"I did lose people I loved, Acquila. But I'm not going to lose Harry and you…neither to Malfoy, nor Voldemort. I promise you that."

And somehow, Harry knew that Sirius _would_ keep his word.

**xxx**

Lucius Malfoy sat in a room in a secluded wing of his vast Manor. The pocket watch that Cassiopeia had bequeathed to Draco lay in his pale hands. He ran a long fingernail over a snake engraved around the dial.

Had this indeed belonged to Salazar Slytherin once? Lucius had no doubt that it had. He knew that the Black family vaults held ancient treasures that any pure-blood would have given an arm and a leg for.

From items belonging to Slytherin to the dagger that had been specially wrought for Ptolemus, the Invincible, an ancestor of the Malfoys were rumoured to be resting within the Black vaults in Gringotts. People even said that Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem lay with the Blacks. But Lucius knew better than to believe in that rumour. No Black worth his salt would have treasured something belonging to a Ravenclaw.

But he knew that even apart from the lost diadem, other priceless treasures were valued possessions of the Blacks. And it would have been Lucius who would have owned all of them through Draco, if it hadn't been for the blood-traitor.

Sirius bloody Black.

How Lucius hated the man! The very thought of him sitting in Black Manor, surrounded by his heiress and the Potter brat made his blood boil. Not only had Sirius put paid to his plans of making public Potter's pathetic childhood, but he had also managed to snag Narcissa's loyalties.

Lucius had never ever thought Narcissa capable of doing something as grave as betraying her husband. She was his aunt Druella's daughter for heaven's sake! And going against your husband's wishes and colluding with his enemy, was probably on top of Druella's list of what a pure-blood wife should not do. He had loved Narcissa, if caring for your wife and fulfilling all her needs could be termed love. And more importantly, he had trusted her! But she had shown her true colours in the end- she was a Black. A true Black. Who supported her _family_ before all others; even if her family was headed by a filthy blood-traitor! The very blood-traitor, whom Lucius had failed to capture, failed to kill despite innumerable attempts at decimating him. The very bastard, due to whom Lucius had lost his position as the Dark Lord's right-hand man to his deranged sister-in-law, Bellatrix.

_"Forgive me…Master…please…"_

_"Your pleas for mercy will have no effect on me, Lucius, though they did soften Black's heart! CRUCIO!"_

_The Dark Lord's voice rang out loud and clear amidst the cackling laughs of Bellatrix Lestrange, and the jeers of the other assembled death-eaters._

_Lucius writhed in pain- pain more than he had ever felt._

_"CRUCIO!" _

_The voice screamed again, and this time, Lucius couldn't even hear Bellatrix's taunting voice, as he almost fell off the edge of consciousness; when suddenly, the pain stopped, and he moaned in agony, as he had no strength to even open his eyes._

_"Stand up!" came the commanding voice, and Lucius struggled to lift his torso off the ground, let alone stand up._

_"I said stand up!" snarled the Dark Lord again, and this time, Lucius pushed all the pain and the humiliation that festered in his mind, and somehow managed to stand up- knowing that if he didn't, he wouldn't live long enough to see the dawn of the coming morning._

_"What had I ordered you to do, Lucius?" asked the Dark Lord, while Bellatrix, who now stood at her master's right hand- a position that had been Lucius'- cackled with delight, enjoying Lucius' misery and humiliation._

_"You…you had ordered me to either capture or kill Black, my Lord," he said, wincing as his every nerve in his body seemed to scream in pain._

_"And what did you do?" asked the Dark Lord._

_"I…I tried my best, my Lord…but Black is too-"_

_"Sirius Black is just an eighteen year-old, who has fought lesser duels than Crabbe has won, Lucius! And you are a twenty-seven year old wizard, who until now, had the esteemed privilege of being one of my most important followers. But what did you do, Lucius? You let Black get away again! Three chances I gave you…three golden opportunities to kill Black. And you failed again, Lucius. You failed me again. And you know what happens to people who fail to do what they have been told to, don't you?" The Dark Lord's long fingers roamed over his wand, as Lucius shivered, knowing that this could very well be the last breath he took._

_"I asked you something!" roared the Dark Lord._

_"Yes, my Lord," said Lucius, and from the corner of eye, he caught the eager expression on Rodolphus Lestrange's face. Lestrange knew of course, that if Lucius was killed, he would have a very good chance of rising up the ranks and usurping Lucius' place as one of the followers the Dark Lord trusted the most._

_"If you hadn't had all the contacts that you do within the Ministry, if I hadn't thought that I could control the Ministry through you, you would be lying dead at my feet now, Lucius," thundered the great wizard, and Lucius felt himself sigh in relief._

_"Do not presume that you have escaped your punishment! You think I will let this matter rest this soon? You have sullied my name! The name of Lord Voldemort! I trusted you, I gave you the honour of killing Black, when people like Bella here, would have been more than pleased at killing her blood-traitor of a cousin!"_

_"Yes, my Lord!" said Bellatrix. "Give me an opportunity to kill him, Master. Let me-"_

_"SILENCE!"_

_Bellatrix fell silent, though her black eyes glinted in amusement and triumph at Lucius' abasement._

_"You will kill Black. Kill him or die trying! And till you do so, Lucius, you can forget about reclaiming the honours I had bestowed upon you and about regaining my trust!"_

_"I will kill Black, Master! I give you my word," said Lucius as he fell on his knees, his hands clasped as he paid obeisance to the Dark Lord._

_"Thank you, my Lord," he repeated, before preparing to stand up._

_"Did I tell you to stand, Lucius?"_

_"No…no, my Lord," he said, his head bowed in guilt as he fell onto his knees again._

_"You still haven't been punished enough!" roared the Dark Lord, and the flurry of curses- all of them containing the darkest of magic- had hit Lucius in quick succession. And it had taken him an entire week to get back on his feet again, as he recovered from the injuries to his head, his chest and his legs; along with the after-effects of being tortured beyond measure. There had been a time in that week, when he had thought that he would die of the pain, die of the humiliation he had suffered. Even dunderheads like Crabbe and Goyle had laughed openly when he had been punished. Greyback had probably hoped that he would get to sink his fangs into Lucius' flesh. And he knew, that the Dark Lord would never forgive him for his failures._

_And there was only one man to blame for this, only one man whose death would bring back Lucius' lost honour, his lost priveleges. Sirius Orion Black III._

"Damn!" Lucius swore as he realised that he had almost crushed the pocket-watch that lay within his fist, as he had remembered the humiliating memory. He kept the pocket-watch aside, not wanting to damage the priceless artifact.

And then, he stood up, pacing around the room.

He had never managed to kill Black, never even managed to give him life-threatening injuries. And Lucius thought that it was a miracle that he had managed to survive despite failing the Dark Lord time and again. He knew that it was not only because of the influence he wielded in wizarding circles, but also because it was his wealth that funded the Dark Lord's campaigns, the death-eater attacks.

And Lucius had failed not only his master, but he had failed himself as well. It was Black who had always got the better of him. It was Black, before whom he had begged for mercy. Sirius had got the entire Black fortune; got custody of not only his daughter, but also Harry Potter. He had won the goodwill of all of wizarding Britain, he now had more clout in the Ministry than Lucius had!

And he had inherited the title of Lord Black, a title that only the Head of a Noble and Ancient house like Black possessed. Lucius was only the Head of the House of Malfoy. He wasn't Lord Malfoy, because the House of Malfoy wasn't an Ancient House like that of the Blacks.

He had claimed the title of Lord, which Draco and his Malfoy heirs would have inherited. He had inherited Black Manor and Cepheus' Castle-properties than Lucius had once dreamt of owning when Draco would inherit them. But all this was before Black escaped, before his daughter , who was supposed to have been dead, resurfaced.

Acquila Black! Lucius hated her as well. Hated that she had set him on fire in the Courtroom before the entire Wizengamot- an incident that had been spoken of for days in Wizarding circles. Of course, he had loved the idea of her marrying Draco and the Malfoy descendants inheriting all the Black fortune. But Lucius knew, that now that Sirius was a free man, he would never ever let his only daughter marry Draco. And that was not only because Draco was a Malfoy, but because he was Lucius' son- the son of the very man who had killed Acquila's grandparents, who had tortured her aunt Marlene before killing her, and who wanted nothing better than to see Sirius dead.

Narcissa's plan of a marriage between Acquila and Draco would never materialize. Hell, he doubted whether Narcissa even wanted that anymore. For all he knew, she would next be seen hugging Potter on Platform 9 and ¾ and bidding him farewell, to get into Sirius' good books!

No! He had to do something! Something that would not only hurt Black, but which would get Acquila out of the way. Once Acquila was dead, Lucius knew that Sirius would die- either of grief, or die trying to kill Lucius, when he found out that it was he who had led to her death.

And if he got Potter out of the way as well, it would be an even bigger blow to Black. Black would die of sorrow, and of the guilt at having failed to save his children! And even if by chance he didn't die, he would never remarry for sure, because Lucius knew that Sirius had loved his wife and would probably never replace her with another woman.

And then, the Black fortune and title would belong to the Malfoys! He doubted that the Blood-traitor Andromeda would want to have anything to do with the Black wealth. Draco had told him of the Metamorphmagus half-blood's reluctance to even accept the measly annual sum of three thousand galleons that Cassiopeia had bequeathed to her.

And then, Draco and his heirs would inherit all that belonged to Sirius! And along the way, Lucius would get his revenge, his vengeance at being humiliated, at having had to beg for mercy, at losing his top position in the death-eaters to Bellatrix, and at having lost his wife's loyalty to Black as well!

If Narcissa had still been the loyal wife that she was, Lucius knew that she would have thought of a fool-proof plan with her cunning Black brains. But he couldn't trust Cissy…no, Narcissa. He wouldn't ever call her Cissy anymore.

And now, there was only one way to ensure that he would attain his goals.

He walked into the room at the uppermost level of the Manor and then locked the door with a spell. He then opened the door to a chest that he had kept in the cabinet that was hidden in the wall of the room, failing to notice the Elf hidden behind the cupboard with a magical duster in his hands.

With trembling hands, he took out the diary that he had placed within the chest.

'_Keep this safely, Lucius! It is the key to the Chamber of Secrets!"_ was what the Dark Lord had told him. And Lucius remembered having been surprised at the wizard having given him the privilege and having still trusted him enough to give him an item of such great value, despite his failures at killing Black.

He knew that the Dark Lord wouldn't appreciate Lucius having used the diary that he had bene trusted to keep safe, for attaining Lucius' own goals. But the Dark Lord was no more, and even if he did return, as old codgers like Dumbledore thought he would, Lucius knew that it wouldn't be soon.

All he needed to do now, was slip the diary to either Acquila or Potter. And the monster within the Chamber would be let lose! And Acquila- who was a blood traitor's daughter, and Potter-who along with being a half-blood, was also the one who vanquished the Dark Lord, the last descendant of Salazr Slytherin, would certainly be decimated by the monster who was rumoured to have kept within the Chamber by the great Slytherin himself to scourge Hogwarts of those with less than pure blood. And even if by chance, the Chamber didn't open, Lucius was certain that the diary contained magic dark enough to harm Black's children. His very hands tingled with magic different than he had ever known, on merely touching the diary.

"Acquila Black! Your days are numbered! And so are yours, Harry Potter! I'll get my vengeance, Black! I promise you! The Chamber of Secrets will open!" Lucius said aloud, his eyes gleaming at imagining the fruition of his plans. And then, he negated the locking charm that he had cast on the door, before walking out of the room, the diary held reverentially in his hands.

It was when the sound of Lucius' footsteps turned softer, before extinguishing completely, that Dobby came out of his hiding place. The Elf knew not of what exactly his master had planned. But he knew that his master wanted to open the Chamber of Secrets that lay within Hogwarts. He had heard his relatives- the elves that worked in Hogwarts mention tales about the Chamber. And he had heard his master mention that Harry Potter and Acquila Black's lives were in danger!

Dobby had heard his mistress saying that the Blacks and Harry Potter were living in Black Manor. And he also knew that Black Manor was heavily warded, and he wouldn't be able to enter it to warn Harry Potter of the danger to his life.

But if he blocked letters from Harry Potter and Miss Black's friends, perhaps they would avoid going to Hogwarts thinking that their friends didn't love them anymore! To his elfish mind, that seemed the perfect plan! And he disappeared with a snap of his fingers, resolving to stand guard outside Black Manor and stop all owls addressed to Harry Potter and Miss Black.

He would do all within his power that would stop the two children from going to Hogwarts! He would protect them even if it meant that Dobby had to punish himself for betraying his master!

"I will save you, Harry Potter, Miss Black!" Dobby whispered to himself, swearing that he would give his very life if he had to, to protect the great Harry Potter.

**xxx**

"Protego!" exclaimed Harry, as Sirius sent a leg-locking spell towards him. A thin, transparent shield formed in front of Harry and he concentrated on urging his magic to withstand the spell that Sirius was sending at him. He barely managed to shield himself from the leg-locking jinx, when Sirius shouted 'Aguamenti!' and the sharp jet of water that burst forth from the tip of his wand somehow managed to break through Harry's shield charm and hit him right in his face.

"You need a stronger shield, Harry! It did manage to block the first spell, but it should have been stronger to prevent my second spell from breaking through. Your shield charm should be strong enough to block even the strongest of spells," said Sirius, as a drying charm quickly dried the water on Harry's face, hair and glasses.

"I think we should stop for the day. I don't want to overexert-"

"No, Sirius!" cut in Harry. "I want another go at it! If I have to face Voldemort, I have to keep trying till I get it right!" he said determinedly, as Sirius sighed softly.

"I'm glad that you're taking the threat of Voldemort resurfacing seriously, Harry. But the shield charm is a pretty advanced spell! You're barely a twelve-year old, and this is just the third day of practice. And the fact that you managed to deflect the leg-locking jinx is a great thing-"

"Please, Sirius. Let's try once more. Just once more," said Harry.

"Alright—Petrificus Totalus-" Sirius spell came searing through the air even before Harry had time to react.

"PROTEGO!" Harry shouted instinctively, his desire to prevent the body-binding spell from hitting him channeled his magic into his shield, and a split-second later, Harry felt Sirius' spell hit the shield, before deflecting and hitting the wall, where the magic-absorbing charms absorbed the spell.

Sirius trip jinx hit Harry's shield even before he had had time to mentally celebrate his successful effort, and Harry somehow managed to deflect that spell as well.

"That was good, kiddo!" said Sirius, with a proud grin on his face which made Harry smile widely.

"Thanks, Sirius."

"And how's my little girl doing, Remmy?" he asked Remus as Acquila and the Werewolf walked towards them.

"Quite well. But she still needs to control the amount of magic she puts in a wandless spell, Padfoot. Her disarming charm blasted me off my feet, but some of the shield charms she put up were weaker than I had expected them to be," replied Remus, as Acquila pouted sulkily.

"You'll get better at it Acquila," smiled Remus. "And when you get back to Hogwarts, McGonagall can always train you better at controlling your magic. She's much better at this than I am. And I'm sure she'll like knowing of the third shield charm that you cast!" he said explaining to Sirius about Acquila's strong shield charm that deflected Remus' disarming spell and sent it back at Remus himself!

Sirius looked overjoyed.

"So my daughter is quite the powerful witch," he grinned, pulling Acquila into a one-armed hug.

Harry was a little envious of the proud look on Sirius' face, before Sirius spoke to Remus, "Prongslet seems to have an inborn talent for defensive spells, Remmy! He's even better than Jamie was at his age!" he told him proudly, as Harry smiled.

"Hey! Why don't you and Acquila try dueling each other? I mean you know the shield charm, the disarming spell and a few other minor jinxes you learnt at school. One of you can try disarming the other, while the other can put up the shield charm. Just the basic-"

"Sirius," cut in Remus pointedly, "I don't think they should-"

"Oh come one, Mooney! Don't be a spoilsport! You remember Jamie and me dueling during Auror training, don't you? I'd love seeing our kids-"

"Sirius! Don't-" started Remus again, but Acquila exclaimed, "Why not! Are you up for it, Potter? You against me?"

"Why not, Black?" smirked Harry as the two children stood facing each other with a worried Remus and an excited Sirius standing at the sidelines.

"Sirius!" Remus whispered urgently. "They aren't ready for this! You know about the-"

"Calm down, Remmy! They won't hurt each other!"

"That's exactly my point-"

But Harry and Acquila were already ready to duel, as they bowed to each other, signaling the start of the duel.

"Let's begin!" said Harry, as Acquila held out an outstretched hand, channeling her magic through her fingers to disarm Harry. Her face had a look of utter concentration, while Harry stood alert, ready to thwart Acquila's spells; when Acquila suddenly scrunched up her face in worry.

"I can't…something's wrong with me…with my magic!" she exclaimed worriedly, before she turned to Remus.

"Where's my wand, Remus?"

Remus threw her wand at her, his face streaked with lines of worry, as Acquila caught it and raised it towards Harry.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted, as Harry screamed, "Protego!" as he put up the shield charm; but to their immense surprise, no spell shot out of Acquila's wand.

"What's happening?" she gasped in fear. "Why…why can't I perform magic?"

"You're just tired, Acquila," said Remus. "Why don't we continue this tomorrow?" he said, after looking pointedly at Sirius, who now seemed to be cursing himself.

Why hadn't he realised this earlier? The bond probably prevented them from using spells against each other!

"Remmy's right," said Sirius hastily. "We'll continue tomorrow-"

"No, Dad!" she cut in indignantly, a puzzled expression on her face. "Harry! you try disarming me!"

"Expelliarmus!" said Harry, but no spell shot out of his Phoenix wand, but Acquila had put up a perfect shield.

"What's wrong with my wand?" gasped Harry, examining it intently, as Acquila suddenly shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and Remus' wand came zooming into her outstretched hands.

"What's happening, Dad? Remus? Why can't Harry and I disarm each other?" she asked them, as Sirius gulped before looking to Remus, who had an 'I told you so' expression on his face.

Sirius threw him a half-apologetic, half-angry look- apologising for not having listened to Remus when he had told him to avoid the duel, and angry for Remus not having spelled it out to him clearly enough- at which Remus rolled his eyes. There had been a time when Sirius and James would know what the other was saying at the mere raising of an eyebrow, or a simple smirk. And it seemed a little eerie to Remus at how he seemed to have filled into James' place at deciphering Sirius' wordless expressions.

"Will the both of you stop conversing in this unspoken manner?" snapped Acquila, as the two Marauders looked back at her.

"Uh…why don't we talk about this to Dumbledore? I'm sure he'll be able to tell us something about this-"

"This is what you keep saying all the time! This is because of the…the connection that Harry and I share, isn't it? Tell me, Dad! You can't keep saying that Dumbledore will research on it and get back to us! I know that you know what's going on!"

"I…I think that there's some strange link between Harry and you…a 'connection' as you put it…but I…I don't know much about it as yet, Acquila-"

"Don't 'Acquila' me, Dad! I know you know what's happening to us! And you as well, Remus!" she looked accusingly at Remus, who had a strange expression on his face.

"Harry! Say something!" she said to Harry, who just shrugged.

"I…Umm…Acquila, I think you should just calm down…how about we go take a walk in the garden?" was all that Harry said, before grabbing a reluctant and protesting Acquila's hand and pulling her behind him as they departed the room; leaving two bewildered men behind them.

"Damn!" groaned Sirius as he conjured a chair and sat down onto it, "And don't say 'I told you so'!" he said as Remus sat on a conjured chair as well.

"Are you going to tell them? They'll guess it anyhow! Acquila's inherited Athena's inquisitiveness, Sirius! She'll find it out-"

"Oi!" cut in Sirius. "Weren't you the one who said we shouldn't tell them till they grow up?"

"Yes, but that was before a certain man got the bright idea of telling them to duel each other," responded Remus dryly. "But I'm still a tad unsure about this-"

"Great Godric! Remus John Lupin unsure about something," chuckled Sirius half-heartedly, before sighing again. "I think I should tell them rather than have Acquila give me the silent treatment for a month," he muttered.

"I think we should talk to Dumbledore about this," put in Remus. "He thinks the kids need to discover their bond for themselves. And—"

"I know what Dumbledore's view is, Remmy. But he isn't Acquila's father, is he? I don't want Acquila mistrusting me as she mistrusts Dumbledore! Damn! Why are things so muddled up? I wish Jamie was here…I mean…this isn't just about Acquila, it's about Harry as well! What do you think James and Lily would have done if they had been alive? Would they have told Harry that he shares a soul-bond with Acquila? What do you think Athena would have wanted me to do? I can't…why do _I_ have to be the one taking a decision on this, Remmy? Andy keeps telling me that I should tell them…but then even Dumbledore is right in a way. They are too young…and the Bond is for them to discover…and I don't want them to be forced to be with each other because of the bond…" Sirius trailed off, before starting again, "But I don't want to keep secrets from them, Remmy! I don't like lying to them!" he said earnestly, standing up and pacing around the room as he ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up.

"Don't worry, Padfoot. We'll think of the right way out," said Remus as he walked to Sirius and put a hand on his shoulder, and Sirius nodded resignedly.

**xxx**

"Why did you drag me out of there? Don't make me hex-" Acquila stopped in mid-sentence. "I doubt I can hex you when I can't even cast a disarming spell at you," she sighed, as Harry muttered, "Thank God for that!"

"What did you say?" she snapped, inclining an eyebrow.

"Well…I've seen how you are when you get angry, and I wouldn't want to be at the receiving end of your fury, Acquila," smiled Harry slightly, as Acquila coloured a little, remembering how she had set Lucius Malfoy on fire when she lost her temper in the Ministry Courtroom.

"They definitely know what's wrong with us!" she said after a long moment. "I am not talking to dad till he tells us what they are hiding!"

"I don't think that will work, Acquila. If they wanted us to know they would have told us. And I don't think Sirius would hide anything from us unless it is for our own good." Harry reasoned with a skeptical Acquila. "Don't you trust him?" he asked her.

"Of course I trust him Harry. But why would Dad hide something?" Acquila wondered aloud.

"Maybe, it isn't the right time for us to know. I mean, I had asked Dumbledore about why Voldemort had targeted my parents, but he said that wasn't the right time for me to know…no, no. Hey! Don't flare up at me," he put in hastily at the angry expression on Acquila's face at the mention of Dumbledore. "I have a better idea, you know," he continued. "We can use the Invisibility Cloak to-"

"To listen into Remus and Dad when they discuss this!" she completed the sentence for him, a wide grin on her face.

"You're a genius, Harry," she said, before pulling him into an impromptu hug and he blushed slightly, before putting his arms around her.

"And we'll write to Ron and Hermione! What if the Weasleys have a library like we do? They are a pure-blood family as well, aren't they? Hermione won't find any books on this in the Muggle world, but then she'll certainly try to help us out as best as she can…and we'll ask Dora as well. I'm sure Dad would have mentioned something of this connection to her!" Acquila continued.

"Yes. And we'll act as if we've put this matter to the back of our mind! And then Sirius and Remus will discuss why we haven't asked them about this yet! And you and I will sneak in beneath the Cloak and listen to them!" said Harry, as Acquila let out an exclamation of glee, before they walked to the study to pen a letter to Ron and Hermione each.

**xxx**

Molly Weasley hummed a Celestina Warbeck melody under her breath as she cast a charm on the ladle which made it stir the soup on its own.

"Ronnie!" she called out to her youngest son, and the only one currently present in the Burrow. Ginny was off to the Lovegood's house to play with Luna, Xenophilius' slightly eccentric daughter. The twins were off to visit their friend, Lee Jordan, no doubt to plan some pranks.

While Percy was out to meet an unnamed friend, who Molly was sure was a girl. And though her motherly instincts did want to know who the girl was, and ensure that she was good enough for her Percy, she knew that being with a girl would serve to take Percy away from his world of studies, rules and his rather ambitious nature. Not that being ambitious was bad; but Molly sometimes feared that if the time came to chose, Percy Ignatius Weasley would chose his ambitions over his family.

"Ron!" she called out again, and her son came down the stairs, the tips of his fingers smeared with ink, while his short pajamas exposed a bit of his ankles. Molly stifled a sigh as she thought of the cost of the new clothes and the next books they would have to buy for not just Ron, but his Hogwarts-going siblings as well.

"Whom were you writing to, dear?" she asked him, knowing that her youngest son wouldn't have even touched the ink bottle for academic stuff. To her disappointment, Ron seemed to be treading down to twins' path than Percy and Bill's when it came to studies.

"I was writing to Harry, mum," replied Ron, between chomping rather noisily on the bacon.

"Oh! How is the poor boy?" she asked him, sighing as she thought of him being brought up by Sirius Black, who seemed to have had a rather promiscuous past, and who seemed incapable of giving Harry Potter the parental love he deserved, if the Daily Prophet reports were to be believed.

"Poor boy?" snorted Ron. "Mum, Harry sounds happier than he ever did! He's living with his godfather, Acquila and his godfather's friend, Remus Lupin! And you know, Mum, Acquila's dad is training them in magic! He's teaching them to-"

"He's doing what?" exclaimed Molly, a lot louder than she had intended to.

"Ow! Don't scream, Mum! He's teaching them defensive magic! I wish even I could do magic during the holidays! And they are also learning to-"

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! I never want you to talk of breaking laws! You are underage! You cannot perform magic in the holidays!"

"Mum, I was just-"

"No, Ronald! I don't want you to go Sirius Black's way!"

"But, Mum-"

"What's going on here?" came a warm voice from the door.

"Dad! Mum's yelling at me for no reason!" complained Ron.

"Ronald Weasley! You talking of breaking Ministry laws is reason enough for me to-"

"Molly," said Arthur, his voice calm, but with enough within it to make Molly stop speaking.

"Ron, why don't you go up to your room if you have finished eating?"

"Fine," grumbled Ron as he put the last piece of potato in his mouth and walked up the stairs after depositing his dinner plate in the sink.

"What's the matter, Mollywobbles?" Arthur asked his wife gently as he pulled her in for hug, before he sat down on the chair beside hers.

"Sirius Black is teaching Harry and his daughter magic! Underage magic! He's hardly had the children for three weeks and he has started teaching them to break rules!" she huffed angrily.

"Oh, Molly," Arthur sighed as his wife snuggled closer to him. "If Sirius had decided to teach the kids magic, I am sure he has some reasons behind it-"

"They'll be as bad as he is!" she interjected furiously. "How can the Ministry even let a man who was in Azkaban bring up two twelve-year old children? He may be deranged for all we know!"

"I am sure Black is sane, Molly. No deranged person could have escaped Azkaban! And Acquila is his daughter. And I am sure he knows what is best for her-"

"He doesn't! She's a girl! And Sirius Black, along with Remus Lupin think that they can bring up a girl child? She needs a maternal influence in her life, not two men who know nothing about child-rearing!"

"Look, Molly, I have met Lupin a couple of times. And Dumbledore himself said that Lupin is one of the most calm-headed and practical people he's known. As for a motherly influence, I am sure Andromeda Tonks will more than fill up the void in Acquila's life. And really, Molly, we'd better not interfere in how Sirius sees fit to bring up his daughter. Did you not see him in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts the day Pettigrew…" Arthus trailed off.

The mention of Pettigrew was still a sore point with not just Molly, but also his children, especially Ron. The fact that a murderer, who had killed thirteen innocent people, had been staying in the same room as their children for ten long years still gave Molly sleepless nights. And as if the ignominy of not having discovered that their son's pet rat was an Animagus hadn't been enough, the Weasleys had been thoroughly questioned by the Aurors along with newspapers printing numerous unsavory reports about them, accusing them of having knowingly sheltered a criminal. Amelia Bones had done her best to dispel the false reports, but the Weasleys knew that many people probably still believed otherwise.

"Did you not see the way he looked at his daughter that night?" Arthur continued. "He may have spent a decade in Azkaban, but I _know_ that he does love his daughter, Molly."

"Fine," huffed Molly. "But what about Harry Potter?"

"What about him?" sighed Arthur.

"He isn't his son! What made the Ministry just give Harry's guardianship to Black? He's a single man who has scars of his own form the time he spent with the Dementors! How could they just give Harry's custody to him?"

"Sirius Black is Harry's godfather, Molly! James and Lily Potter saw it fit to declare Sirius their only son's guardian in case something happened to them! Do you think the Potters would have made Sirius Harry's godfather if they didn't think him suitable?"

"No…" Molly replied, though she sounded conflicted. "But Black is already teaching them to break rules!" she exclaimed suddenly, her voice full of conviction again. "He's going against the Decree for Underage Sorcery! And not just his daughter and Harry, but he's influencing our kids as well! Ron said that even he wishes to perform magic in the holidays!"

"Ron must have just said it off-handedly, dear. Don't the twins keep saying that they wish to perform magic in the holidays? Are you going to blame that on Sirius as well? And I am sure Sirius has his reasons for teaching them magic. You know of You-know-who having tried to get the Philosopher's stone, don't you? Didn't you hear Dumbledore say that there is a chance of You-Know-Who coming back? And if he does come back, his first target is going to be Harry! So why wouldn't Sirius train him in defensive magic, Molly? I'd say it's good that he's training Harry," said Arthur before gulping as he saw his wife's furious expression.

"And you know as well as I do," he continued hastily, "that the Ministry won't be able to detect magic performed in any property belonging to the Blacks. The Blacks have always thought themselves to be above the laws; their residences prevent the Ministry from-"

"Exactly!" Molly's exclamation cut Arthur's voice off. "The Blacks have always thought themselves above the rules! Always thought themselves above every other magical being! So why should Harry Potter of all people, be brought up by a Black?"

"Molly!" Arthur groaned in exasperation. "You know that Sirius isn't like the other Blacks. I don't claim to know him well, but when he was in the Auror Department, I hadn't heard a single bad word about him. On the contrary, he was well-loved by everyone, though a bit arrogant at times. And he stood firmly against You-Know-Who and his followers! Over half of the captured death-eaters currently in Azkaban were caught by Moody's team of which Sirius was the second-in-command! And I know that _you _know that Black is firmly on the side of the light. So will you tell me what exactly it is that's bothering you, rather than beating about the bush? Is this about Rita Skeeter's article again?"

Molly hesitated, before replying, "Yes. It is!"

"We've gone over this once, Molly. I understand that you care about Harry, but you read Skeeter's apology with your own eyes! The report was fake! As was the one that she had written about us being in league with Pettigrew!" he said, his voice rising a bit in volume.

"Obviously the report she wrote about us wasn't true! But what if Black paid her to back-track on her words? What if she _did _write the truth and Black hushed her up? I mean, what would Skeeter get by opposing Black when he's so popular at the moment?"

"What did Skeeter get by implying that we helped Pettigrew, Molly? All that the woman wants in publicity and fame! And she will do anything to get that!"

"Harry goes to bed crying each night, missing his parents," said Molly in a softer voice.

"Skeeter lied about it. I'm sure it isn't true," said Arthur gently, as he pulled Molly closer to him. He knew that his wife was a kind, motherly woman whose heart hurt on seeing any child in pain and sorrow. But he also knew that Sirius Black would take care of Harry. He didn't know Sirius well, but he had heard a lot about his friendship with James. And he knew that Sirius wouldn't treat his best friend's son with anything less than the affection and care he deserved.

"And you read about Black, didn't you? The proposals he's getting from the dark families…his wayward ways with girls when he was younger…what if he marries someone from a dark family? What of the children then?" she continued.

"I am sure that Sirius won't marry again…not this soon. He's just out of Azkaban. And I doubt he will marry someone from a dark family. Linton Brown told me that he saw Sirius rejecting Elia Yaxley's proposal at Cassiopeia's funeral. And he said that Sirius seemed quite good with the children. His mother, Ivy Brown, told Linton that Sirius would make a great father-"

"A great father? He'll probably make Harry like he was! Running around girls and having a new girl on his arm each weekend; and breaking rules and getting detention! What kind of values if he going to bring up Harry with?"

"Oh, Molly! Even Fred and George get detentions and break rules! Does that mean that we haven't brought them up well?" chuckled Arthur, but as he saw the furious expression on his wife's face, he knew that it had been an extremely wrong thing to say.

Molly stood up, looking rather like an angry lioness.

"Go and freshen up, Arthur! I'll set the table for our dinner," she snapped, and Arthur knew that the discussion had come to an end.

He walked up the stairs to their room, silently hoping that Molly would never meet Sirius Black. Because he knew that his wife would have quite a few choice words to fling at him, and with Sirius known to have a relatively short temper as well, he knew that the talk would be more than just a fiery exchange of words.

Molly kept grumbling under her breath as she laid out two plates for Arthur and her to eat. Why couldn't Arthur understand her concern for Harry? Harry Potter was the boy-who-lived! And he had been an orphan all his life! He deserved a loving family who would take care of him. He deserved a motherly figure like Molly herself who would love him as one of her own children. He deserved much, much better than that playboy Sirius Black! And though Molly couldn't do anything about it, she could invite Harry to the Burrow for some days…to spend time with the poor boy, show him what having a family is.

"I'm inviting Harry to the Burrow," she said to her husband as he walked down the stairs towards her.

"You are not," Arthur replied softly, but firmly.

"Why not?" she protested angrily. "He's Ron's friend! And Acquila can come as well! I'm sure she'll get on well with Ginny! The kids need someone to care for them! They need a mother! Not a wayward father!"

"Molly! I know that you care for Harry. I know you've cared for him since even before Sirius Black came into the picture! I know that Harry thinks well of you as well from the letter that he sent you when we sent him the jumper; and I know that you would love to be a mother to him. But you need to realise that the Potters, the Ministry and Dumbledore trust Sirius to take care of both the kids. And we should do so, as well! Sirius has just got his daughter and his godson back after almost eleven long years! And please, let him spend time with him. Aren't you a parent yourself, Molly? Wouldn't you have wanted to spend time with your children if it was you who saw them after years?"

Molly opened her mouth to reply, but then shut it again, saying nothing.

"We'll call them over next Summer. Or for Christmas. But now, let Sirius spend time with him. And well, we can meet Harry soon," he muttered.

"What?"

"Sirius has invited all of us for Harry's birthday. I got his owl just a couple of minutes ago. So what do I reply?" he asked Molly, knowing she would say yes, but inwardly wishing she would say no. He had no wish to witness the argument which would inevitably spring up between his wife and Sirius.

"Of course we're going!" Molly beamed at him, before calling out to Ron.

"Ron! We're going to meet Harry!"

As Ronald came down the staircase, Arthur sent a silent prayer to the powers above, hoping that Sirius would do nothing to worsen Molly's impression of him.

**xxx**

"What are you thinking of?" Remus asked Sirius as they sat in the study that afternoon, wondering whether he was thinking of the Bond again.

"Nothing!" came the reply.

"Lying isn't becoming of you, Padfoot," said Remus wryly. "You've been staring into that newspaper since the past ten minutes, but you're still on the same page. And you're a fast reader, so you should have turned at least two pages until now. And your eyes haven't moved over the paper, as they should have if you were reading-"

As Sirius made to reply, Remus continued, "But you aren't thinking about Prongs and Lily or Athena...or your brow would have furrowed in thought, while your eyes would have gained the strange look that comes into them when you think of the past. But then, you aren't thinking of a happy memory as well-"

"Mooney!" interjected Sirius. "What is wrong with you? And what's with you suddenly turning excessively observant?" he asked the Werewolf, raising an eyebrow in curiousity.

"Nothing...I read too much of Sherlock Holmes," muttered Remus, sighing when Sirius threw him an incredulous look.

"Holmes? Is that the name of the author of the book?" smirked Sirius.

"No. The author's Arthur Conan Doyle...never mind," groaned Remus.

It was at times like these that he missed Lily. Though it had been years since her death, Remus rather keenly felt her absence each time he read some Muggle book which he knew Lily would have loved. The love of books was what had made Lily and Remus become friends at a time when Lily used to dislike the Marauders. Remus was the only Marauder Lily had taken a liking to, thanks to their common interest in literature ranging from the works of William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters to those on the six wives of the Muggle King, Henry VIII.

"Thinking of Lily, are you?"

Sirius' voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"I was, but how did you know that?"

"The powers of observation, my dear Watson," responded Sirius before chuckling heartily at the astounded look on Remus' face.

"How...how did you know that? Watson...but you've never read Muggle novels," spluttered Remus, as Sirius continued sniggering.

"I read your book last night...when I couldn't sleep," said Sirius as a glare from Remus put an abrupt stop to his laughter. "It's a wonderful book... I liked most of the short stories that I read, especially the Mystery of the Copper Beeches. And I quite liked Holmes' methods of observation and deduction...Muggles are very imaginative, aren't they?"

"Indeed," agreed Remus, before coming back to the matter at hand. "So what were you thinking of?"

"Acquila's childhood," sighed Sirius softly.

"Thinking of paying a visit to the orphanage?" muttered Remus.

"Yes. And don't you stop me, Remmy-"

"I won't stop you as long as you promise not to use any magic; I don't want a repeat of the events at Privet Drive, you see," remarked Remus as Sirius snorted.

"I won't hex children, Mooney! And I just want to go there to-"

"Thank Mrs. Smith," Remus completed the sentence for him.

"Yes. I believe she was the only mother figure in Acquila's life...and if it hadn't been for her, I don't know how my child would have lived through the indifference and fear that the other children there showed to her. I owe a lot to that lady. I mean, look at Harry's childhood. Despite Petunia having been his Aunt, she never cared for him. But Mrs. Smith...she didn't even have to treat Acquila like her daughter...but she did...and though I still haven't forgiven Dumbledore for having put my child in an orphanage, I'm glad that Acquila ended up with Mrs. Smith..."

"You're right. She is indeed a good lady. Remember I told you I met her?"

"When you'd gone to tell Acquila about going to the Malfoys' place for that ball? Yes, I do remember you telling me of it...And I still don't understand how you went along with Dumbledore's idea of making Acquila go to the Manor! Malfoy killed Athena's parents for Merlin's sake! What was Dumbledore even thinking?" growled Sirius.

"I...I...let's not talk of this, Padfoot," sighed Remus, not wanting Sirius to get furious over Dumbledore's decisions. He knew that most of Dumbledore's decisions, especially the ones about leaving Harry with the Dursleys and Acquila at the Orphanage rankled Sirius to no end.

"Fine," huffed Sirius.

"Have you told Acquila that you plan to visit the Orphanage with her?" Remus asked him.

"I'll tell her tonight," replied Sirius.

"I'm sure she'll be glad," smiled Remus as he remembered that Mrs. Smith was the one person Acquila had turned to, when she had fought with Harry during Christmas.

"I just don't know how to tell Mrs. Smith of who I am," muttered Sirius. A few spells by Dumbledore on unsuspecting Muggles had wiped off almost all evidence of Acquila once having lived in the Muggle world. He had deemed it prudent to do so, rather than Sirius going through the long process of adopting Acquila legally in the Muggle world. Since Sirius was a Black, he wasn't registered in the Muggle Government records; and as a single man, him adopting Acquila wouldn't have required going through quite a few hassles, especially since he didn't even exist in the Muggle world. And bringing the Muggle authorities to inspect Sirius' place of residence to determine whether it was a good place for Acquila to live in, wouldn't have been possible as Muggles couldn't enter Black Manor. And with Sirius having been in the Muggle news, and Acquila having been deemed an orphan, it would have required a lot of efforts to declare that she was indeed Sirius' daughter. And thus, they had taken the easier way out of making all signs that Acquila had ever been in the Muggle world vanish.

"I mean, she thinks that Acquila's an orphan. And if I suddenly turn up out of the blue...plus there's the fact that she must have seen me on Muggle television...and then there's the Statute of Secrecy which I can't break-" Sirius continued.

"You don't need to worry, Sirius. We'll think of something. And you know, when I met Mrs. Smith, I felt like she already knew that Acquila's a special girl," Remus smiled again as Sirius nodded, his eyes sparkling at the thought of his only child.

**xxx**

Ophelia Smith smiled at the young black-haired girl that showed her a picture that she had drawn.

"Is this for me, dear?" she asked the five-year girl, who nodded mutely.

"Thank you so much, child," said the lady as she kissed the girl's chubby cheek.

"Now why don't you go play with Martha?"

The girl smiled and skipped away happily, her black curls bouncing as she did so.

Ophelia smiled as she kept looking at the girl till she finally went out of her line of sight.

The girl's name was Joyce. And she had been brought to the Orphanage just a couple of weeks ago. Her parents had perished in a car crash, the only miraculous survivor of which was little Joyce. She had no surviving relatives who were willing to take her in. And thus, she had been brought to the orphanage. Joyce had hardly uttered a few words since she had been there. And the doctors thought that her mind was still scarred; with the car crash and losing her parents having traumatised the young child. Ophelia was the only one Joyce would talk to; the only one she would want to be with.

And though Ophelia wanted to see Joyce settled into a good foster home with a family who would want her and care for her, she was inwardly loath to see the child go. And that wasn't only because Joyce was someone she could shower all the motherly love her childless heart carried, but also because Joyce reminded Ophelia of another little grey-eyed, black-haired girl, who had been extremely close to her: Acquila.

Ophelia sighed as she thought of Acquila. It had been around three weeks ago that a letter had been delivered to the orphanage. The letter had been from the Government Department that oversaw the rehabilitation of orphans and it stated that Acquila had been taken in by a foster family and wouldn't be returning to the orphanage.

But everything about it seemed fishy to Ophelia. A foster family? How had a foster family been ready to take in Acquila? Not that Acquila wouldn't make a good daughter. On the contrary, Ophelia knew that Acquila would have made a perfect daughter for anyone! With her delicate features and classical beauty, Acquila had always been a beautiful child. And she was just as beautiful from within, as she was outwardly.

Ophelia had seen how Acquila would tend to injured birds and abandoned puppies. While the other kids would trouble the poor animals, Acquila would tend to them with an almost motherly love. And though Ophelia would never tell of it to anyone, she still remembered the day when Acquila had healed an injured kitten. The feline had landed up in a corner of the backyard of the orphanage, with its front paw bleeding, as it tried to lick off the blood with its tongue; all the while mewing in pain.

And a six year-old Acquila had gently scooped up the kitten in her tiny arms, while she gingerly caressed its bleeding limb, simultaneously whispering words of comfort despite knowing that the feline would never understand her. Acquila had then placed her hand on the bleeding wound for just a minute, and Ophelia could have sworn that the very next moment when Acquila lifted up her hand, the wound had just disappeared! It was like Magic! Ophelia had been bewildered and thought that she had probably been seeing things; but the shocked and confused expression on Acquila's face told her that the girl had indeed inadvertently healed the kitten. But how she had done so was completely outside Ophelia's realm of comprehension. And Ophelia had tried to put the matter out of her mind; not even telling anyone about it lest they think she sounded a tad crazy.

But Acquila wasn't just kind and caring, she was a special child. And many people who had come to the orphanage to adopt kids had fallen in love with Acquila's charming smile and her pretty looks.

Three families had gone through the official process of adopting her. Three families. Ophelia still remembered their names: the Leeds, the Clarkes and the Fishers. And all three sets of couples had brought Acquila back to the orphanage in just the next two to three days, saying that the child was strange, abnormal. And that they wanted a normal child who wouldn't make toys fly! They had told Ophelia that hesitantly, afraid that she would dismiss their claims as ridiculous. But Ophelia had believed them, having seen the same things happening numerous times over the years.

Acquila wasn't a normal girl. But then she wasn't abnormal! She was gifted! She was special!

And each time that Ophelia had seen the heart-breaking expression on Acquila's face, born out of consecutive rejections by people whom she had thought would love her; Ophelia had resolved to love the child even more, to give Acquila all the affection that a child like her deserved. And after the adoptions fiascos, Ophelia had also tried her best to keep Acquila out of the view of prospective parents who came to visit the orphanage to adopt children, not wanting Acquila to feel rejected again.

So how was it that after all these years, someone had come in wanting to adopt Acquila? Ophelia had even been to the Department that had sent her the letter, but to her utmost astonishment, Acquila had all but vanished from the government records! There was not a single document regarding Acquila, not a single one! And that was extremely hard to digest because Ophelia herself had submitted a yearly report of the orphans under her to the department! All the documents relating to the other children were present there, but none regarding Acquila. It was as if she had never existed! Even the officer who had sent her the letter seemed to have no recollection of sending it! Ophelia thought he seemed rather befuddled and confused, as if someone had cast a spell on him, not that such things could happen!

And the strange part was that the letter sent by the department had vanished! It seemed shorter everyday, as if it was shrinking into itself, till a week later, the letter had completely disappeared! And now Ophelia had nothing, nothing at all to officially prove that a girl named Acquila had once lived at the orphanage. All she had were the letters that Acquila had sent her from the Scottish school that she studied in. And strangely, her last two letters had gone unanswered. Ophelia knew Acquila very well. She knew that Acquila wouldn't willingly neglect to reply to a letter she had sent her. And it made her fear that Acquila was indeed in some deep trouble.

She had spent sleepless nights wondering about Acquila. She had even looked around for people named Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin- the two people who had come to visit Acquila…people from her school. But no such people seemed to exist in Britain! It was as if they were all from a completely different universe!

So then where was Acquila? What had they done to her? And how could Ophelia even file a missing person report with the police with no proof to back Acquila's existence? Even most of the children who had lived with Acquila for almost all their childhood years seemed to have forgotten all about her!

A sudden shout of 'Someone's at the gate, Ma'am, " dislodged Ophelia from her reverie.

"Who is it, John?" she asked the boy.

"A man and his daughter from the looks of it," said the boy as Ophelia stood up to walk to the gate.

"Jesus Christ!" she gasped as she saw the two people walking down the cobbled path.

"Acquila!" she cried, wanting nothing better than to run up to the girl and gather her in her arms; but she restrained herself; knowing that her slightly ageing legs wouldn't take too kindly to a sprint down the path. And it was Acquila, who came running towards Ophelia.

"Mrs. Smith!" exclaimed the girl as Ophelia enveloped her into a tight hug.

"I'm so glad to see you, child! I was so worried...I kept thinking of how you were...where you were..." she mumbled in a choked voice.

"I wanted to tell you, Mrs. Smith...I swear I wanted to...but-"

"But she couldn't," came the voice from behind Acquila.

Ophelia Smith's hand rushed to her heart as her eyes took in the man before her. He was a spitting image of Acquila, in a taller and an infinitely masculine mould.

He was Acquila's father, without a doubt. Of course, John had mentioned that it was a man and his daughter. But those words had flown out of her mind when she had seen Acquila. But…but wasn't Acquila an orphan?

"Good Lord!" she gasped as she suddenly realised that the man was the very one who had been in the news. He had first been declared as a dangerous escaped prisoner with a gun, before being declared innocent, and wrongly convicted. Human Rights' groups had been up in arms at the Government and Police department's wrongful conviction of the man. Sirius Black….hadn't that been his name? And though many activists had tried to search for the man to secure him the compensation due to him by the Government and to talk to him about his point of view over the matter, he hadn't been found. He had all but disappeared from Britain.

"Mrs. Smith! Mrs. Smith!" she heard Acquila's voice calling out to her in a panicked tone, and she realised that the girl had probably been calling out to her since more than a few seconds.

"Oh…forgive me…I was just…"

"It's alright, Madam. I can understand," said the man, a bit apologetically.

"But…how…I heard that Acquila had been taken in by a foster family…and…and she was an orphan! There were no records of either of her parents-"

Ophelia stopped as felt tiny hands tugging at her skirts. It was Joyce.

"What's the matter, child?" she asked the five year-old as she picked her up in her arms. But Joyce said nothing, as usual.

"Who's this, Mrs. Smith?" asked Acquila, as she smiled at Joyce, tickling her chin and making the child laugh.

"This is Joyce. Her parents…well…she's been brought here recently…" replied Ophelia.

"May I hold her? Will you let me hold you, Joyce?" Acquila asked the child sweetly, and to Ophelia's immense surprise, Joyce leaned towards Acquila's outstretched arms.

"Careful, love," said Sirius, knowing that Acquila wasn't used to handling kids.

"Yes, Dad. Do you want to listen to a story, Joyce?" Acquila asked her as she walked towards the garden.

Joyce said nothing in reply, before finally whispering a 'yes', much to Ophelia's happiness.

"May I talk to you, Mrs. Smith? In private?" Sirius hesitantly asked the older woman, who was still staring at Acquila, who sat with Joyce in her lap in a green patch of grass, saying something animatedly to her.

"Oh… of course," she smiled at Sirius. If she had had the child she had miscarried when she was twenty, he would probably have been around Sirius Black's age, Ophelia realised with a pang. She led him to her office.

"Please have a seat, Mister Black," she gestured towards a chair in front of her.

"Thank you. And please call me Sirius," he responded. 'Mister Black' had been what people called his father. And he did not like being reminded of Orion Black.

"Alright, Sirius," she replied, and he just smiled politely at her. From his body language, Ophelia realised that he wasn't going to volunteer with information as yet. It was up to her to ask him what she wanted to know.

"So _you_ are Acquila's father," she stated rather lamely.

"Yes. I think the resemblance between us does make it quite apparent," he remarked, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"So am I to understand that you were wrongly imprisoned for a crime you did not commit, and then you escaped from prison, found out where Acquila was, and took her home with you?" she asked him pointedly.

"You're right. Gathered that from the television, did you?" he asked her.

"Indeed, I did. But what I do not understand is how you managed to claim Acquila as your ward by bypassing the legal process! I got a letter stating that Acquila has been adopted by a foster family. And when I went to the Department to look for her records, they had vanished! And Acquila had disappeared from the records! As if there was some magic at play!"

The dark-haired man just stared at her. And was that amusement that she detected in his grey eyes? She observed him minutely again. His expensive suit told her that he was a very wealthy man. While his grey eyes- a replica of Acquila's- contained something that made her think that he had been through things that had forced him to grow up faster than he should have. His eyes were strangely haunted, as if they contained the ghosts of a painful past, as if they had been witness to an immense loss that the man had suffered.

"And you…" she continued as the man raised his eyebrows at her rather lengthy observation of him. "The press has been searching for you…they claimed to have spotted you at a pub some weeks ago, but then you disappeared from there as well," she said, as Sirius remembered the Muggles crowding around him in the Muggle pub where he had gone to get a drink.

"Will you please tell me what's going on, Mister Bla—I mean, Sirius? I care for Acquila like my own daughter! And I wish to know who it is she will be living with! You can't just turn up out of the blue and claim her as your ward! I know she's your daughter…actually, she _isn't_ legally your daughter!" Ophelia exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air in exasperation.

"She doesn't even exist legally! Tell me what's going on! How is it that you managed to alter records that only Government officials have access to? And why would you even want to destroy proof of Acquila's existence? How do I not suspect foul play in this, Sirius?" she demanded angrily, as Sirius debated confunding her.

But he didn't want to! He had come here to thank the woman who had helped his only child grow up into the girl that she was; not to use magic on her! But nor could he break the Statute of Secrecy. He was _Lord Black, _and he knew that Fudge would probably let him get away with that as well, but he couldn't put the wizarding world in jeopardy by telling a Muggle about the existence of magic! Though undoubtedly no one would believe Mrs. Smith if she told them that he was a wizard and Acquila a witch; but nevertheless, telling her didn't seem right.

Ophelia stared at the numerous expressions that flitted over the man's eyes. His face was impassive as ever, but it were his eyes, that seemed to convey all the conflicting emotions going on through his mind. Was her contention that Acquila and Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall weren't from her world true, perhaps? But…but the very idea of it was laughable. And insane!

She took a deep breath, before saying, "Sirius? May I ask you something at the risk of seeming a tad…uh…how do I put it? Impractical? Insane? Not in the right-"

"You may ask me anything you wish to. I promise not to judge you by your words," Sirius chuckled slightly, interrupting her.

"Are you…are you not from our world?" she asked him hesitantly.

"You're right," he replied softly. "It isn't that we aren't from your world…it's just that the world we…that is Acquila and I live in, is different to yours..." he trailed off sheepishly.

_'How eloquently put, Padfoot!'_ he chastised himself mentally. Where was his wit and his vocabulary when he needed it?

Ophelia Smith's eyes widened in incredulous astonishment; before she proceeded to question him further.

"So…so is that why strange things always seemed to happen around Acquila?" she asked him in a voice a little louder than a whisper, as Sirius nodded.

_"This girl is a witch! She is cursed! She makes toys fly in the air! She makes things zoom into her outstretched hand! She is a witch!"_

Ophelia remembered the words of the elderly Mrs. Leeds, whose son and daughter-in-law had adopted Acquila. She had dismissed the words of the old woman, as the mere lunatic ravings of the orthodox lady. But was it true, perhaps? But there was no such thing as magic! There couldn't be!

But then how could Acquila have made flowers bloom? How could she have landed up on the roof of her school building? Why had she got a letter which was carried by an owl when she was there for Christmas? An _Owl_ for God's sake!

Ophelia could feel the start of a painful head-ache as her thoughts ran into muddled territory.

"Mrs. Smith," Sirius' voice broke her out of her musings.

"Ye…yes?"

"Could you please tell me about Acquila's childhood? I…the last time I saw her was when I bid goodbye to her and my wife…when she was not even fifteen months old…and I missed out on all the years of her growing up…" Ophelia saw the man falter, and she recognised the pain in his eyes- the same pain she saw in her own eyes as she thought of the children that she had lost.

"They brought Acquila here when on the morning of the 1st of November, 1981. They had no information about either her parents or her relatives…and they deduced her name from the bracelet on her wrist…" Ophelia stopped suddenly.

Of course! Even the bracelet was a fishy thing! She had wondered why they had never been able to take it off, wondered why the bracelet seemed to 'grow' with Acquila, why it seemed to adjust to the increasing circumference of her wrist as she grew up. But she had never found any answer to those questions. Was that magical as well? If magic did indeed exist, that is…

"And then?" asked Sirius.

"She even used to call out for a 'Hally', and we wondered whether it was her sibling or some relative…but that stopped after a few weeks. And we assumed that her infant mind had forgotten about whoever 'Hally' was. But yes, she did cry for no apparent reason, saying that her arm was aching as if someone pinched her, or her forehead was paining. But the other people here thought she was just saying it to gain attention. And well, I never really believed that. I could see that she was really in pain, though I couldn't make out how she was hurt when there was no visible wound! Even when she grew up, there were times when she said that her ribs were aching, as if someone had punched her…once, she said that she had scraped her knee and it was paining a lot…but I could see no injury or blood…but she kept limping the entire day saying that she had hurt her knee…it was all… all just so strange! And eerie things seemed to happen whenever Acquila was around…like the doll she liked flying…actually _flying_ into her hands! She could make flowers bloom! She would take a rose bud in her hand, close her fist…and when she opened her fist, the bud would have flowered! And we just couldn't understand how she could do that! And well, my co-workers started fearing her…as did the other kids…the kids especially thought that since Acquila could do what she wanted, she could hurt them as well if she wanted to…and some of them were…well, jealous of her abilities…and since they couldn't do what she could, they started ignoring her, taunting her and encouraging the other children to do the same…and gradually Acquila started distancing herself from all the children here…she turned into a loner. And since I have no children of my own, I started taking care of Acquila…she was such a precocious child…she was special! And she kept to herself and her books…she never hurt anyone…even when they taunted her…except one day when Jack…a boy who stayed here….tried to snatch a book from her hand and it flew up in the air and hit him right in his face, injuring his eye…and things with the other kids started getting worse for Acquila since that day…" exclaimed Ophelia.

"And it was when she met that boy named Harry at her primary school that she started improving for the better. At first, I wondered whether he was the same 'Hally' that she used to cry for. But then, I knew he wasn't…. I mean, such coincidences happen only in books and movies!" she exclaimed, as Sirius smiled amusedly.

"And then, since she became friends with that Harry boy, she started smiling a lot more, laughing a lot more…she stopped bothering about the children that ignored her…and then well, a lady named McGonagall came to visit us one day, saying that Acquila had a place at her school…and Acquila visited just once after that during Christmas, though she seemed extremely upset that time…she never told me what had happened though…" Ophelia trailed off.

"Mrs. Smith, I've come here to thank you. I wasn't there for my daughter in her growing up years…and if it hadn't been for you, I don't know what would have happened to her. Despite knowing that she is a…a different child, you cared for her as if she were your own daughter. And I owe you greatly for-"

"Oh no, Sirius. There isn't any need to thank me. It's my duty to care for the children under me…and Acquila has always been an obedient and well-behaved child…I always wondered who her parents were...she always seemed to carry herself with such an unconscious grace…even the way she talks, the way she walks, the way she conducts herself…she was always very graceful, very dignified…and it seemed to come from within her…as if it was something she was born with…I always thought she had born into a well-off family…and I wondered what had happened to her family…why hadn't her relatives come forward to claim her…and well, I can't say I trust you completely, but I am happy that Acquila finally has someone to call her own. She always asked me where her parents were…always wondered whether someone would come and take her home…to her true home. And I'm extremely happy that she had finally got her wish fulfilled," smiled Ophelia, before continuing, "Though it saddens me that I won't be seeing Acquila again, now that she's got a family of her own," she smiled tearfully.

"Acquila can always come and visit you when you want her to, Mrs. Smith. And I've learnt that family isn't determined by blood. The only true family we have consists of those people who love and care for us, without blood ties obliging them to do so. And I believe that you are as much a part of Acquila's family as I am," said Sirius sincerely.

"Thank you, Sirius."

"I should thank you, Madam. And…I want you to know that if you ever require any help, whether for yourself or the orphanage, whether monetary or otherwise, I am just an owl…I mean, just a letter away," he said, correcting his mistake hastily, though he did notice Ophelia's eyebrows rise as he said 'owl'.

"Thank you," smiled Ophelia. "Now may I talk to Acquila? I have a lot to talk to her-"

"Of course. I'll go get her," replied Sirius, as he walked to the garden where Acquila sat under the dimming sunlight, telling Joyce a story.

Sirius smiled at the scene in front of him. If the past would have been even a little different, Acquila would have been narrating a story to her own younger sibling, and not a child from the orphanage. She would have probably fought with her younger brother, played tea-parties with her younger sister…they would all have gone on family picnics with the Potters. Harry would have probably had a younger sister as well. He remembered Lily saying that she wanted a little girl of her own, when she had first held Acquila in her arms. But the rodent and Voldemort had put paid to all their dreams, all their hopes. And all that was left of the two families now, were Harry, Acquila and Sirius.

"What are you thinking of, Dad?" asked Acquila, as she suddenly hugged Sirius, having seen the sorrowful glint in his eyes.

"What's the matter?" she asked him again, as he pressed a kiss onto her head.

"Nothing, sweetheart. Why don't you go in to talk to Mrs. Smith?" he said to her, as she nodded and led Joyce into the building, before throwing another curious look at Sirius.

**xxx**

Later that night, Acquila walked up to her father as he sat on a chair, examining a goblin-made dagger that he had found in one of the rooms of the Manor.

"Thank you, Dad," she said softly, as she put her arms around his neck while she stood behind his chair.

"What are you thanking me for, darling?" he asked her, as he put the dagger aside, clasped her hand and pulled her onto his lap, while she leaned into his chest. He realised with a slight pang, that when she had been a child, she had fallen asleep in a similar position numerous times. And the realisation that in a couple of years, she would probably consider herself too grown up to sit on his lap had a twinge of sadness run through him. Would he ever stop regretting having missed all of Acquila's childhood?

"For taking me to see Mrs. Smith…" Acquila replied, bringing him out of his thoughts. "I mean you didn't have to…I hadn't even told you that I wanted to visit her-"

"You don't have to tell me what you want, sweetheart. Though I've known you for just a little while, I am your father, and I can fathom a guess at what you want," he smiled softly.

Acquila hummed in agreement, before suddenly exclaiming, "Will you take me to Diagon Alley, Dad? I want to buy a gift for Harry!"

"Of course, I'll take you-"

"And what about the birthday cake? And informing the Weasleys? And Neville as well…and did you arrange the Quidditch-" Acquila stopped suddenly on spotting Harry entering the room.

"Oh…I was just looking for you…It's alright…I'll…I'll be back…" he mumbled, and Sirius caught a sudden gloomy expression flitting across his face that Sirius recognised very well, before Harry walked out.

"Do you think he heard us?" asked Acquila after she was sure that Harry was out of hearing range.

"I don't think he did…but I think something's bothering him. Why don't I go talk to him while you give this dagger back to Mopsy? Tell her to put it in the safe…I'll keep it in the Gringotts vault when I go to Diagon Alley."

"Alright," replied Acquila as she hopped off Sirius' lap and went to look for Mopsy, preferring to walk through the Manor rather than summon the elf.

**xxx**

Meanwhile, Harry sat on the damp grass in the garden behind the Manor, wondering what it was that Acquila and Sirius had been talking about. Why had they stopped talking just when he entered the room? Were they talking about him, perhaps? And why did it hurt to see Acquila and Sirius sharing a father-daughter moment? Of course, Acquila deserved to have her father back and Harry knew that Sirius did consider him a son. But that didn't mean that Harry _was_ his son, did it? And it didn't mean that Harry could stop the tiny voice within him that wished that it had been Harry and James sitting in that chair rather than Acquila and Sirius. He wasn't jealous, or he _thought_ he wasn't jealous. He was just…just missing his own parents.

His thoughts were disrupted as he felt Sirius settle down next to him.

"Jealous, are we?" he asked Harry nonchalantly.

"Huh? N…No," Harry mumbled. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Because you wished it was Prongs and you instead of Acquila and me?" Sirius asked him shrewdly.

"Uh…Maybe," Harry replied softly, his face reddening in mortification.

"Oh, Harry, you don't need to feel embarrassed about it. Believe me, I know how it feels-"

"No…you don't know! I mean I know you love me…I don't doubt that…I know you treat me similar to how you treat Acquila…but I miss them sometimes…when I see you playing Quidditch with Acquila…or even plainly talking to her as you were…Sirius!" he said suddenly. "I don't mean to say that you don't care for me…or that you aren't like a father to me!" he said earnestly, remembering Skeeter's report that had insinuated that Sirius wasn't a parental figure to Harry.

"But it isn't the same," said Sirius gently. "I know having your own father and someone fill in as a father isn't the same, Harry. And though not having parents, and having parents that don't give a damn about you is different, I know what you're going through because I went through these bouts of jealousy as well whenever I stayed at Potter Manor. Of course, your grandparents considered me a second son…they never distinguished between Jamie and me…but did I wish that it had been my parents hugging me than Prongs' parents? Of course, I did! And many a times! Each time your grandma tended to the wounds I got while playing Quidditch with Jamie…she would heal me, and give me a hug that she said would make me all better…and even though my mother was an evil hag, there were times I wished that _my_ mum doing that instead of my friend's. When your grandfather played Chess with me, I wished it was _my_ father taking out time to spend with me. I wished it was me and my parents instead of Prongs and your grandparents…It's natural to feel this way, Harry. I would've been afraid if you _hadn't _felt envious! Jealousy makes us human, kiddo. And I would like you sharing your thoughts with me than bottling them up within yourself. I won't feel bad if you tell me, Harry. I'll try my best to be a good Godfather to you, but I know that I can never ever take Lily and James' place in your life."

"Thank you, Sirius," said Harry softly, before he spontaneously hugged Sirius, who hugged him in return, before finally letting go of Harry and ruffling his messy hair, much to Harry's annoyance.

"We're going to Godric's Hollow tomorrow evening," said Sirius softly, and Harry nodded, conflicting emotions swirling through him.

And the two of them sat next to each other in comfortable silence for quite some time, each thinking over what they had spoken, before an irate Remus pointed out that it was one in the morning and finally forced Sirius to put Harry to bed and try to sleep himself.

**xxx**

It was late evening when Harry, Acquila, Remus and Sirius held on to the portkey that took them to Godric's Hollow. Sirius knew that the media would probably hound them as Skeeter's article had made it clear that Harry wanted to visit the graveyard. But he hadn't wanted to take Harry in disguise to visit the graves of his parents. So, he had chosen to come at the relatively late hour, hoping that the diminishing light would keep Harry under the cover of darkness and keep away unwanted people from coming up to him.

They landed in a lane under the darkening sky, where the first stars were glimmering feebly. Cottages stood on either side of the road, and Harry heard Remus whispering to Sirius about a couple of wizarding families they had known, which had once lived in two of the cottages, and had relocated elsewhere in the past decade.

The four of them walked in silence after that. Acquila had grasped Harry's hand, while Sirius seemed to be in a world of his own, as Remus led them inside the village. The lane that they were walking on curved to the left and the heart of the village, a small square, was revealed to them. There, in the middle stood what looked like a war memorial. And as they passed the war memorial, it had transformed! Harry felt his heart falling into a deep, bottomless pit, as instead of an obelisk covered in names, there was a statue of three people- a man with untidy hair, a woman with long hair and a kind, pretty face, and a baby boy sitting in his mother's arms- a baby without a scar on its forehead.

"Jamie…" Harry heard a strangled cry from his left, only to see Sirius' eyes filled to the brim with tears as he gazed at the statue of the man who had been his best friend, his confidante, and his brother.

"Sirius!" he whispered, his own voice choked with tears, but his Godfather walked away, not wanting to cry before the kids, and as Harry and Acquila made to walk after him, Remus stopped them, and Harry turned his eyes back to the statue.

Sirius had told them that there was a statue of his parents and him in Godric's Hollow, but Harry had never known that seeing their unmoving figures cast in stone, would have elicited such a deep sense of grief within him. He stood up on his tiptoes, wanting to brush his fingers over his stone-cast father's messy hair, over his mother's cheek; but their faces were too high for him to reach.

But suddenly, he felt himself being lifted up in the air magically, so that he stood almost face to face with his parents' figures, as he looked into his mother's kind-looking eyes that must once have been full of light, and laughter and life. He moved his trembling fingers over his father's messy hair. Had James Potter's hair too stuck out in all directions, when he woke up in the mornings like Harry did? He didn't even notice Remus lowering him slowly, and his feet touching the ground with a soft thump.

Why did it have to be this way? Why had his parents died? Was this how they had looked around the time they had been killed? His father with his untidy hair, his determined face, and his smile that seemed almost as charming and warm as Sirius' smile sometimes was… His mother…had she always worn her hair long? Or had it once been short as Dora sometimes morphed her hair? His mother seemed so kindly, so affectionate… Would she have sent him Easter eggs as Ron's mother did? Would she have read him stories at night, perhaps? Would she have sent him an angry, but worried letter chastising him for having risked his life while rescuing Acquila and Hermione from the troll? Would his father have come running to Hogwarts when he knew that his son had gone after the thief that was trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone? Would his mother have spoilt him with toys and gifts like Aunt Petunia had spoilt Dudley, or would she have been a slightly strict mother? His father would have probably taught him Quidditch. They would have played in the Quidditch pitch at Potter Manor. His mother- who according to Sirius, hadn't been a big fan of Quidditch- would probably have stopped his father from teaching him the more dangerous tricks. And perhaps, Harry wouldn't have been an only child…he would have had a little sister to love, or a little brother to argue with, like the twins sometimes playfully argued with Ron. How would his life have been with them? But he would never know…he would never know the answers to any of these questions. Because they had died! They were no more! And never before had he felt their absence more keenly in his life.

He felt suddenly weak at the onslaught of grief, and he felt his legs buckle, unable to bear the weight of his emotions, of his sorrow; and he collapsed. But before he even touched the ground, he felt strong hands grasp his shoulders, as a soft hand that he knew was Acquila's, clasped his own hand.

"Are you alright, kiddo?" Sirius asked him, as Remus helped him stand on his feet.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Acquila's voice sounded strangely panicked, worried; and he felt his cheeks grow hot at embarrassment, at the shame of almost having collapsed, at having seemed weak.

But before he could say that he was alright, he heard Remus say "It's okay to grieve for them, Harry. It doesn't make you weak. On the contrary, it shows that you love them, and that you value their sacrifice. They are still living on, Harry. Living through you…"

Harry nodded, and walked away after one last glance at the statue, which turned back into the obelisk again; Acquila's hand still tightly holding his. She hadn't said much to him, but somehow, he knew that she understood what he was feeling, as if she was sharing his grief.

They walked towards the graveyard; Sirius' eyes seemed red-rimmed. There was a kissing gate at the entrance to the graveyard. And Remus pushed it open quietly. Behind the church, row upon row of tombstones jutted out of the grass that grew haphazardly.

"Where…where are they?" Sirius' voice was hoarse as he asked Remus where the tombstones were.

"Come on," said Remus softly, leading them past rows and rows of tombstones. He hardly read the names of them, though he thought he saw a 'Dumbledore' engraved on one of the tombs; but he ignored them. Acquila's hand clasped his even tighter, her nails almost digging into the palm of his hand. And he knew why- she had spotted the tombs of his parents.

They all came to a stop, and Harry slowly turned his eyes to the headstone made of white marble.

_James Potter, born 27 March, 1960, died 31 October, 1981_

_Lily Potter, born 30 January, 1960, died 31 October, 1981_

_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death._

Harry read the words slowly, as if he would have only one chance to take in their meaning, and he read the last of them aloud.

"'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death'…"

"It means living beyond death, Harry," said Remus, though his normally calm voice sounded strangely choked.

But they were not living, Harry thought; they were gone. The empty words could not disguise the fact that his parents' mouldering remains lay beneath the stone, indifferent, unknowing. And the tears came before he could stop them. And he felt Acquila envelop him into a hug; as he fell onto his knees, while she did the same. He hugged her tightly, as if he would never let go, he burrowed his face into her neck, into her long black hair- as long as his mother's hair had once been. The same mother who would never know that her son stood so near…his tears falling faster than they ever had…his heart still beating only because of the sacrifice that she had made…that his father had made.

Perhaps it would have been better if his mother hadn't stood in between Voldemort and him…and then it would have been Harry, who would have lain beneath the stone…lain with the parents who had died to save him…with the parents who would never know him at all…never know how much he loved…how much he missed them each time Remus narrated some Marauder tale…each time Sirius hugged Acquila…each time Aunt Andy scolded Dora… What wouldn't he have given for a single hug from his father? For a single word, even a word of scolding or chastisement from his mother? He would have given all the gold in his Potter vaults, all the properties he owned, only if it meant that he could have one glimpse of his parents, one loving word from them…or even an affectionate glance from his mother's green eyes that were so like his own…or a mischievous smile from his father… Why couldn't _he_ have died with them as well? Away from the years of indifference at the hands of the Dursleys? Away from Voldemort?

"Harry!" he heard Acquila exclaim suddenly, as her hands flew to his shoulders to disentangle him from her embrace, while she cupped his face to make him look into her grey eyes, which were now full of tears.

"Don't you even think of wanting to have died!" she exclaimed furiously. "Do you get that? Don't even let that thought cross your mind! I am sure your parents wouldn't want you wishing for that! They gave their lives for you! So that you could live! Not so that you could want to have died with them! You have Remus and Dad and me…and Dora and Aunt Andy and-"

"I know…" he said, and she stopped speaking, before proceeding to take off his glasses and wipe off his tears, before hugging him again. It was much, much later that he realised that Acquila had known what he had been thinking about, without him having even told her. He sat there for some more time, Acquila still holding on to him, before he finally knew that he had had his fill, and he stood up. And it was then that he realised that Sirius was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Sirius?" he asked Remus.

"He'll come later…do we go home now?" Remus responded.

"But Sirius-"

"Dad will come later, Harry," said Acquila softly, as Remus grabbed Harry's hand and led them towards the kissing gate again.

"Do you…do you want to see the house, Harry?" Remus asked him gently and Harry nodded hesitantly.

Remus led them down the dark street leading out of the village in the opposite direction from which they had entered. Harry could make out the point where the cottages ended and the lane turned into open country again. And then Remus stiffened, and as Harry looked at where Remus' eyes were gazing he could make out a dark mass that stood at the very end of the row of houses. He sped up, dragging Acquila with him, and as they neared the house, he could see it clearly.

"The Fidelius Charm died with Prongs and Lily," whispered Remus as Harry stared at the house.

The hedge had grown wild over the past eleven years since Sirius had taken him out of the destroyed house before handing him over to Hagrid. Most of the cottage was still standing, although entirely coloured in dark ivy. But the right side of the top floor had been blown apart. And Harry knew that that was where the curse had backfired.

He grasped the rusted gate, simply wishing to hold some part of the house. But at his touch, a sign had risen out of the ground in front of them, and in golden letters upon the wood, it said:

_On this spot, on the night of 31st October, 1981,_

_Lily and James Potter lost their lives._

_Their son, Harry remains the only wizard ever_

_to have survived the Killing Curse._

_this house, invisible to Muggles, has been left_

_in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters_

_and as a reminder of the violence_

_that tore apart their family._

And all round the neatly lettered words scribbles had been added by people who had come to see the place where the Boy Who Lived had escaped. Some had merely signed their names, while others had carved their initials in the wood, still others had left messages.

_Thanks for saving us all, Harry Potter_ said one of the most recent messages, while another one said _I miss you, Lily- love, Maggie. _Yet another one said: _You're the best Quidditch captain I played under, Potter, and I know you're still putting a smile on the faces of those around you, wherever you are- Benjy_

"Who…who was Maggie?" mumbled Harry.

"Lily's dorm-mate, Margaret Kelburn. She was one of Lily's best friends," replied Remus in a choked whisper.

"And Benjy?"

"Benjy Williams. Gryffindor Chaser…he went on to play for Puddlemere United…James had got an offer to play for them too…but he turned it down to become an Auror," said Remus softly, before continuing, "Do you…do you want to go in, Harry?"

"No," mumbled Harry in a whisper. "Let's go back home," he said, even though saying the word 'home' seemed strange.

_This_ was his home…where his parents lay buried…where his father had played with him last…when his mother had stood between him and certain death…where his parents had taken their last breaths. This destroyed cottage was his home…had been his home. But he couldn't go in…he didn't want to…he didn't want to know where his father had lain in a lifeless heap…didn't want to know where his mother's corpse had fallen…

"Let's go," he said again, and as Remus pressed the portkey in his hand, the three of them disappeared, as the image of the cottage stood engraved in his mind's eyes, never to be erased.

**xxx**

Harry tossed and turned around his bed. He had been thinking of nothing but his parents since he had come back to Black Manor. He just couldn't wipe off the memory of seeing their statues, seeing his mother's dimpled smile, seeing his father's dates of birth and death on the tombstone. He hadn't even known when their birthdays were! What kind of a son was he?

He rolled over onto his other side. Would they have been proud of him? Or would his mother have wanted him to take more of an effort in studies like she had? He knew that his father would have been proud that Harry was the youngest Hogwarts seeker in a century… but would he perhaps wanted Harry to play as a Chaser like he had? And Harry hadn't even known that James had been a good enough player to have been offered a place in Puddlemere United, which Ron had grudgingly admitted, was a table-topping team, leagues above the Chudley Cannons! Sirius had forgotten to mention that to him…

Thinking of Sirius brought another pang to Harry's heart. He had seen how unstable Sirius looked at the graveyard before he had disappeared. Perhaps, telling Sirius to take them to Godric's Hollow had been a bad idea. Harry had seen the haunted look enter his grey eyes, the forlorn, empty look which made Harry worry for his Godfather at times. Why hadn't he thought of how visiting Godric's Hollow would affect Sirius? When Harry, who didn't remember a single thing of his parents had been so distraught at visiting their tombs, and the house where they died, Sirius and Remus who had known his parents so closely and for much, much longer than Harry had, would certainly be in a worse state of mind than he was. And Sirius hadn't even returned from wherever it was that he had gone.

"Harry!" Harry heard a soft whisper from next to him, before a warm body slipped into his bed.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Acqu-" Harry's words stopped suddenly as Acquila put a hand on his mouth, stifling his voice.

"Lower your voice, Potter!" she snapped in a whisper as he nodded his head vigorously as finally removed her hand from his mouth.

"Fine," he whispered, "But what are you doing here?"

"I knew you wouldn't be able to sleep. And Dad's drunk, I think-"

"Drunk?" gasped Harry.

"Yes…I heard him shouting…Remus was trying to calm him down…"

"Let's go," said Harry, as they tip-toed out of his room, and stealthily descended the staircase, stopping as they heard raised voices.

"—wake up the kids, Padfoot! Lower your voice-"

"Can't you see, Mooney? It's all my fault-"

"None of this is your fault, Sirius-"

"It is! I… I told Jamie to make Pettigrew the secret-peeker-"

"-You're drunk, and you're coming with me now. You're going to bed and going off to sleep. And when you wake up with a hangover tomorrow, don't tell me to give you a headache potion-"

"I don't want a po…potion, Remmy…I just want Jamie back…he had promised me…we would remain brothers until the end-"

"He didn't mean to break his promise, Sirius-"

It sounded as if Remus was trying to drag Sirius into the room which was nearest.

"I should have been…been…the sec…secret-keeper, Mooooney…and I should have -hic- died…I should have died rather than Lily and…Pr…Prongs dying-"

"You trusted Peter! We all trusted him, Sirius! You couldn't have known that he was the spy!"

"And you know…know what they did?"

"Who? You aren't making sense, Sirius," Harry heard Remus sighing, as their voices seemed to lower as Remus dragged Sirius farther away from the staircase. Harry and Acquila tip-toed further down the staircase, to listen to them better.

"—people—took away everything…Harry's toys…Lily's books…" Sirius slurred.

"I know, Sirius. I've seen the house…and I couldn't stop them…the house is kept as a monument…anyone can visit-"

"It's not a bloody monu…momunent…monument!" Sirius shouted suddenly. "It was…a house! A home! Jamie and Lily lived…there! Random sss…st…strangers can't go there and…and steal their stuff! I'm going to talk to…to that pompous fool-"

"Fudge?" Harry heard Remus ask.

"Yeah…him…can't let this happen…Jamie's house…people can't come in and take away stuff…''

"Lie down, Sirius-"

"It's all my fault…Jamie will never forgive…me…"

"I don't think James even blames you, Sirius-"

Sirius' voice fell silent after that, and as the two children heard Remus' footsteps walking out of Sirius' room, they fled up the stairs as silently as they could, before entering Harry's room and softly shutting the door behind them.

"Do…do you blame Dad, Harry?" Acquila asked him in a small voice. But before he could answer, they heard footsteps nearing their room.

"Go! Under the bed! Quick!" Harry told her in an urgent whisper, as he pushed her off the bed, while pulling on the covers over himself and closing his eyes and trying to even his breathing; hoping Remus wouldn't know that they had been eavesdropping.

He heard the door open, and Harry tried his best to act as if he was asleep, hoping Acquila had managed to hide under the bed.

"You can open your eyes, Harry. There's no need to feign sleep," he heard Remus' voice ring out in the silence of the room. Was he angry that they had listened in onto their conversation? But it wasn't as if Sirius had been keeping his voice down. Rather, his loud slurred voice had probably carried up to the top storey of the Manor, though Harry wryly. Harry still kept feigning sleep, hoping Remus would think he was really asleep and leave the room.

"Come on, Harry. I know you're awake…you never sleep with your glasses on," chuckled Remus, as Harry inwardly groaned. He had forgotten to take off his glasses!

He opened his eyes, to see Remus standing by his bed, a wry smile on his face as he waved his wand to light the candles in the room.

"Uh…I couldn't sleep," mumbled Harry.

"So you decided that listening into our conversation was a better alternative? And Acquila, you can come out from below the bed, too!" remarked Remus, as a red-faced Acquila came out from under the bed, before sitting next to Harry.

"So," smiled Remus slightly, "What did you hear?"

"They shouldn't have allowed people to take away things from the house!" said Acquila indignantly, her hands folded against her chest.

"I know, Acquila. But since the Ministry declared the house a national monument, anyone can visit it…and well, the Ministry never cared about people nicking things from the house. And I know it's a little late in the day, but Sirius will certainly talk to Fudge about this-"

"That isn't what's bothering me," cut in Harry quietly. "I mean they shouldn't have taken my things…my mother's books…but what's more important is that I don't want Sirius to blame himself for what happened. It wasn't his fault that he trusted Pettigrew! That my father trusted Pettigrew! It's Pettigrew's fault that he betrayed his friends! And I don't want Sirius to think that it's his fault! You'll tell him, won't you? That I don't blame him…nor would my parents have blamed him…"

"I know that, Harry. James would never have blamed Sirius for what happened. And I know that Sirius knows that as well…but you need to understand that just after he saw James and Lily lying dead and retrieved you from the wreckage of the house, he didn't even get a chance to grieve for them. He was dragged to Azkaban after the Pettigrew fiasco…and well, you know how things are in Azkaban, don't you? I don't think Sirius ever got the time to grieve for Prongs and Athena and Lily…and today when he saw their tombs, their house…his guilt, the memories…it all came flooding back to him. But he'll be okay…don't you worry. If there's anyone who can bounce back from all this, it's Sirius. And with both you kids around, he knows that he has something to live for…he'll be alright. He might wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow, but that's about it," said Remus and Harry nodded.

"Go to sleep now…both of you. Good night and sleep well," said Remus and departed after kissing them both on their foreheads, a rather uncharacteristic gesture from him.

"Stay with me, Acquila," whispered Harry as she made to leave and she nodded, getting into the bed beside him, as he pulled her closer to him, reveling in the sudden closeness between them, in the warmth that she seemed to exude; while she took off his glasses and kept them away, before pressing a kiss onto his cheek.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she whispered as he shook his head to signal the negative. And she smiled softly at him, before intertwining her fingers with his, and then shut her eyes.

An hour later, as Harry still lay awake, he wondered why it was that being with Acquila made him feel strangely complete. Why did he feel as if he wanted nothing better than to always have her by his side? He gazed at her peaceful face, that seemed to glow in the moonlight; at her long eyelashes, which she seemed to have inherited from her mother. And as he finally shut his eyes, he remembered that she had read his thoughts in the graveyard. But before he could ponder over the reasons about how she had done so, he felt himself fall into a slumber, and he thought no more.

**xxx**

It was the night of the 30th of July. And Harry sat next to the window in his room, staring out at the starry sky. It had been two days since the visit to Godric's Hollow, and Sirius still seemed to be in a world of his own. He would hardly come out of his room, except at meal times; and he had referred to Harry as James thrice in the past day.

"Pass me the salt, Jamie," was what Sirius had said, and it had taken Harry a long moment to realise that Sirius had been talking to him. And when his Godfather had realised what he had said, he had mumbled a whispered sorry, and walked out of the room.

Even when they had practiced magic again, Sirius had said, "Nice spell work, James…uh…I mean, Harry," before changing partners and dueling with Acquila, who had been quite worried about her father. As the hand of the clock stood two ticks away from touching '12', Harry wondered whether Sirius even remembered that it was his twelfth birthday.

He thought back to his last birthday, which had been his happiest one ever, even though he had started his birthday by lying awake on a stone floor in a cottage on an island. Uncle Vernon had whisked them off to that secluded cottage as their house at Privet Drive had been flooded with letters addressed to Harry which his uncle hadn't wanted him to see.

Harry had been sure that his birthday would be just as drab as all his previous ones had been, but it wasn't. It the best birthday he'd ever had! Hagrid had crashed through the door, bringing with him his first ever birthday cake and the letter from Hogwarts. That day was also the first time he had set foot into the Magical world at Diagon Alley and got his first gift ever- Hedwig. And one of the best parts of that day had been seeing the scared looks on the Durselys' faces and the pig tail sticking out of Dudley's bottom. It still made him laugh, whenever he thought about it.

He wondered how this birthday would be. He hoped Ron and Hermione wouldn't forget to wish him; but he privately thought that they had forgotten all about it, since neither of them had replied to the letters about the spell-training and about the connection between Acquila and him. As he wondered about why they hadn't replied, he a glass crash right outside his room, followed by a loud yelp of pain.

His wand was in his hand, before he had even realised that he had reached out for it. Sirius and Remus had spent hours telling Acquila and him about the necessity of having your wand on their person at all times of the day, and Harry had done just that, as he pointed his Phoenix wand at the door.

**xxx**

"Merlin, Nymphie! Keep it down, will you? Harry will hear you!" Sirius whispered to Nymphadora.

"She's hurt, Sirius," Remus whispered back as he healed the cut on Nymphadora's foot where the shard from the glass vase had hurt her, while she smiled and winked as she said thanks.

"Healed it, Remmy?" smirked Sirius, before saying, "No more noise now," as they advanced towards Harry's room. Remus smiled as he saw the mischievous look on Sirius' face- the same one he had seen loads of times when James and Sirius planned pranks.

"Let's enter! It's midnight!" whispered Acquila. "Come on, Dad!" she nudged him.

Harry kept his wand back at his bedside table before taking off his glasses! He had heard them whispering! And they had all come to surprise him for his birthday, thinking he was asleep.

He jumped into his bed and pulled the covers over him, pretending to sleep, not wanting to ruin the surprise they had planned. He shut his eyes just as he heard his door opening.

"Harry!" he heard Acquila's voice as she tried to wake him up.

"Whaaaat?" Harry fake-yawned as he sat up, only to see Sirius, Remus, Dora and Acquila smiling down at him.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" they all chanted in unison, while Mopsy came in, carrying a large cake in the shape of a snitch, with twelve candles on it.

Harry smiled shyly, a blush creeping up from his neck to his cheeks, as he thanked them.

Never before had he had so many people wish him. The Dursleys hadn't even told him when his birthday was. He'd found out when they'd filled out his admission form for school, which had required his birth date.

Acquila had wished when they had been together in school, but that used to be long after his birthday was over, since their school used to be shut for summer.

"Harry! What are you waiting for? Blow the candles!" exclaimed Dora, bringing Harry out of his thoughts, as she handed him his glasses.

Harry blew the candles and cut the cake with the knife Mopsy handed him, as the others sang 'Happy Birthday', with Remus singing rather off-key.

Harry fed a piece of the cake to Acquila first, followed by the others.

But when the time came for Acquila to feed him the cake, she smeared the cake on Harry's face.

"Hey!" protested Harry, as he jumped off the bed to smear Acquila's face with the cake, as well, but Dora got to him first, as she smeared his face with the icing on the cake; leading to an all-out cake-fight, which Sirius joined and Remus tried his best to stop.

Finally, Remus had to send freezing spells to stop any more cake from flying.

Harry was fully covered in cake, while Acquila's black curls had bits of the icing stuck to them. Dora's hands were sticky with cream and her hair was a bright yellow colour. Sirius seemed to be the cleanest of them all having just joined the battle.

Remus swished his wand and all the cake and cream disappeared.

"Remmy, you are such a party pooper!" Sirius exclaimed when Remus released him from the freezing charm.

"The cake was meant to be eaten and not thrown, Padfoot," said Remus, sounding like a parent scolding his kid.

"Loosen up, Mooney," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Remus!" put in Nymphadora. "You need to have more fun. You should hang with me more often," said Dora, as she winked at him.

"She's right," Sirius said, playfully elbowing Remus, who seemed to have momentarily lost his ability to speak.

"Uh… Harry. Why don't you open your gifts?" said Remus, effectively changing the topic.

Harry jumped back onto his bed and picked up the first gift, which was from Acquila. He un-wrapped the wrapping paper carefully, completely unlike how Dudley used to do the same. Harry wanted to savour the act of opening the gift, since it was just the second gift he had received on a birthday, after Hagrid had gifted him Hedwig.

Acquila's gift was a book named 'A 1001 ways to catch the snitch', by Konrad Weiss.

"Thank you, Acquila!" he said, hugging her.

The next one was from Dora- a wand holster. He remembered Sirius telling him about Aurors having these for easy access to their wands, and to carry a spare wand in case they lost theirs in battle.

"This looks expensive, Nymphie!" Sirius observed as Harry thanked her.

"Only the best will do for my cousin!" grinned Dora, before continuing, "I bought from the money I'm getting from Aunt Cassiopeia!"

As Harry opened Sirius' gift, he gasped. It was a Nimbus 2001!

"Thank you so much, Sirius. Ron told me this is the newest model in the market!" Harry said, his eyes gleaming with happiness, while Remus sighed softly. He had told Sirius not to gift Harry another broom when he already had a fast one. He hadn't wanted Sirius to spoil the children. But Sirius had been adamant about his Godson having only the best broom in the world.

"Yes, kiddo! This is faster than your current broomstick. You are going to be the best seeker at Hogwarts," Sirius smirked.

Finally, he unwrapped Remus' gift. It was a framed photograph of his parents. His dad looked like he was dressed in his best robes, as he knelt down in front of his mother with a ring in his hand. And his mother looked beautiful in a pale yellow gown, her green eyes glistening with tears of joy, as she extended her hand towards his father. And then they suddenly looked at the camera in surprise; before the photograph played back from the start with his father kneeling down again.

"Th... this is.. thank you, Remus," said Harry softly.

"This was when James proposed to Lily. He had been planning it for weeks," chuckled Remus. "He had arranged for a candle light dinner in the backyard of Potter Manor. He had warned us not to come and disturb them, but Sirius here-"

"Oi! Don't blame me! I suggested it, I agree; but you wanted to gate-crash, as well! Admit it, Remmy!" said Sirius, as Remus muttered something in embarrassment.

"Jamie was mad at us, when he saw us clicking the picture, while Lily just kept on blushing … but it was worth having Jamie not talk to me for two whole hours… We got a wonderful photograph in the end," smiled Sirius, before his face turned suddenly morose, and Harry knew that he was thinking of James and Lily again.

"I can't thank you enough for this," Harry said, as he placed the photo frame on his bedside table.

"Now go to sleep, Harry. You have a long day ahead of you," said Remus.

"You've planned something? What is it? I want to know!" exclaimed Harry excitedly.

"You will find out tomorrow, kiddo," said Sirius, winking at him.

"Good night, Harry!" Dora said as she skipped out of his room.

"Good night, Harry and Happy Birthday again," said Acquila as she kissed him on his cheek at which Sirius seemed rather uncomfortable and shared a look with Remus, before ruffling Harry's hair affectionately and leaving.

And that night, Harry went to sleep happier than he'd ever been, having people who loved and cared for him.

**xxx**

Ginny Weasley hated mornings. She wasn't a morning person at all. And in the past year, with even Ron having left for Hogwarts, she used to dislike waking up with nothing to look forward to, except for a long day with only her mother for company. It wasn't that she did not like spending time with her mother. On the contrary, she loved helping her mother knit the jumpers that she gifted everyone for Christmas. And sometimes, she even liked helping her bake cookies because Molly made sure that Ginny always got away with sneaking a few cookies, especially the chocolate ones.

But life did get lonely with only her mother and father living with her at the Burrow. Ginny did play with Luna Lovegood sometimes, but playing with Luna meant playing strange games with invisible things like nargles. And though Ginny did admit that playing with the figments of Luna's imagination was better than playing with dolls and tea sets, she preferred playing Quidditch with her brothers.

And waking up with no brothers to spend the day with, seemed an arduous task to Ginny. So she preferred sleeping in longer. Because sleeping longer meant that the day seemed shorter, and the shorter the days, the sooner the first of September would arrive when she would finally go to Hogwarts and join her brothers, especially Ron and the twins.

But today, Ginny had been up at the crack of dawn, without her mother even having to wake her up. Since her mother had told her that they would be going to celebrate Harry Potter's birthday, Ginny had hardly got a wink of sleep.

Harry Potter! He was her hero! And Ginny had grown up with Molly telling her the tale of how Harry had defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. And when Ron had told her of how Harry had retrieved the Philosopher's Stone, Ginny had spent days dreaming about how brave Harry was. Ron had also told her of Harry saving two girls from a giant troll. And though Ron tended to give himself more credit for knocking out the troll, Ginny thought that Harry had been braver since he had had the courage to jump onto the fully grown troll. And anyway, Ron usually was used to grabbing whatever attention he got with both hands, even if it meant exaggerating the truth. Not that she blamed him for that. She knew how tough it was to gain attention when you had siblings like Bill, Charlie and the twins, who were tough to compete with.

She shook her head as she thought of the twins planning to gift Harry another toilet seat for his birthday.

Harry Potter deserved much, much better than a toilet seat! And Ginny had spent the past two days thinking of what to gift Harry, till she had finally decided to make a birthday card for him. If she had been blatant and honest enough, she would have written of how much she liked him, idolised him. But she was too shy for that. And she had just written a Happy Birthday in the card in green ink. The very shade of green that Harry's eyes were, not that she had ever seen them in person. The last and only time she had seen Harry, he had been in the Hospital Wing when Ron had been injured by the giant Chess figures. And when she had seen Harry Potter's pale, almost lifeless-looking figure lying on the hospital bed, Ginny had wanted nothing better than to burst into tears, till Madam Pomfrey had assured them all that Harry would wake up soon.

"Gin! Mum's telling you to wake-Merlin! You're awake already? And dressed up as well!" exclaimed Fred, who had just come into Ginny's room.

"Yes," said Ginny as she looked into the mirror for the sixth time since she had been dressed. Her robes weren't the best, of course. They were neither expensive, nor pretty like the ones she had seen other witches wear. But they were the best robes that Ginny had. And she would make do with them.

"My my! All dressed up to meet Harry Potter?" winked Fred, as Ginny blushed prettily.

"Will...will he like me, Freddie?" Ginny asked him in a small voice.

"Of course, he will. Harry will like anyone who isn't greasy haired or hook-nosed," chuckled Fred as he remembered how Harry disliked Snape. "And Acquila will like you too. It'll be good for you...befriending a sane girl...after all the time you spend with Luna Lovegood and us blokes," he continued. "Now come down for breakfast. And you can wear these robes later. We're going there in the evening, Ginny, not now!" he said, before departing with another wink.

Ginny grimaced at the mention of Acquila. Fred, George and Ron had mentioned Acquila quite often in the past few days. The twins especially, kept calling Acquila and Harry 'lovebirds', something that Ginny didn't like at all! And Ron had told her that Acquila was Harry Potter's best friend! And she was a rich girl, Heiress to the wealthy Black family, unlike Ginny, who would be taking second-hand books to school. And Harry lived with Acquila and her father at their Manor! What if Harry Potter wouldn't even notice Ginny, because he would be too busy paying attention to Acquila Black?

Ginny sighed loudly at the morose thought before quickly going down the stairs as her mother called out to her for breakfast; her thoughts still centered on Harry Potter.

**xxx**

Meanwhile at Black Manor, Dora walked in, in navy blue robes of the Quidditch team Puddlemere United, emblazoned with two crossed golden bulrushes.

"I didn't know you were a fan of Puddlemere United!" exclaimed Harry.

"Oh, I'm not. I'm more of a Holyhead Harpies' fan. But this is for today," Dora answered, pointing to her own robes.

"Today?" Harry asked, confused, till his face broke out into a wide grin. "So we're going for a match today?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes, we are!" Sirius said, whipping out the tickets from the pockets of his robes.

Harry picked up the tickets and read, "Puddlemere United v/s Chudley Cannons! Ron's a huge fan of Chudley Cannons," he continued.

"We all know they are not going to win," chuckled Dora.

"Why are there so many tickets, Dad? We are just five of us!" Acquila asked, pointing at the bunch of tickets which Harry hadn't noticed in his excitement.

"I booked the entire top box," smirked Sirius. "I didn't want any one trying to disrupt our day. Especially reporters and crazy fans asking Harry unwanted questions," he explained.

"But the entire box, Lord Black?" asked Remus dryly. "I knew _I_ should have gone to buy the tickets."

"It was either that or go disguised as someone else and Harry deserves to be himself on his birthday!" smiled Sirius, ruffling Harry's hair again.

"You are right," sighed Remus. "We don't need anymore more press attention," he said, as the five of them sat down for breakfast.

**xxx**

An hour later, as Harry and Acquila walked past the study, they heard hushed voices coming from the room. Sirius and Remus seemed to have forgotten to shut the door, as the door to the room was wide open.

"Do you think they are discussing the connection we both have?" Acquila whispered to Harry. They had no way of listening to the conversation, since the voices seemed to be coming from the farthest corner of the room.

"Good thing I have this with me, isn't it?" smirked Harry as took out the Invisibility Cloak from the inner pocket of his robes. He had been carrying it around with him since ages, not wanting to let go of any chance to listen in to Sirius talking about the connection.

"Come on," he whispered as he pulled the Cloak over Acquila and him and they disappeared from sight.

"—why would someone block only the kids' letters? I got Arthur Weasley's reply. So my letters aren't being blocked," they heard Sirius say, as they tip-toed towards the two Marauders, sneaking closer to them to listen to them better

"I don't know, Padfoot…seems like someone who's scared of you is doing this. I mean, whoever is blocking the mail, has the courage to stop the children's letters, but not yours…so I doubt it's the former death-eaters. I mean, why wouldn't they block your mail as well if they're blocking the children's? And what would they get by blocking the mail anyway-" Remus stopped mid-word, and to Acquila and Harry's horror, he seemed to be sniffing the air around; as if he could sniff their scent!

Acquila wordlessly grabbed Harry's hand beneath the Cloak, knowing it was time to retreat. And the two men weren't discussing the connection anyway! They were just talking about who was stopping their mail- something that Acquila and Harry had wondered themselves.

"They even stopped Mrs. Smith's letters! She told me she was worried because Acquila hadn't replied to her! I wish I had still been in the Auror Force. I could have got in the force to investigate this without having to lodge an official complaint," Sirius continued as if nothing had happened.

Harry and Acquila had just walked backwards till the doorway, when suddenly the two Marauders whipped their wands out and shouted together, "Aguamenti!" and two strong jets of water hit the Invisibility Cloak, and Harry grinned despite himself on imagining how it must have looked from Sirius and Remus' point of view- the water hitting an invisible wall.

"You can come out now," chuckled Sirius. "We've been beneath that Cloak so many times, kiddo! You can't succeed of sneaking around us under the Cloak!" he said as Harry took of the Cloak.

"Eavesdropping again, Acquila? Harry?" asked Remus, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by again, Remmy?" asked Sirius.

"Well, the children were listening to what you were shouting in a drunken stupor that day," responded Remus.

"Oh," muttered Sirius, running a hand through his hair- something that Acquila had noticed he did whenever he was embarrassed or nervous.

"So what were you doing here?" asked Remus; and from the expression on his face, Acquila felt as if he already knew they were here to ascertain whether they were discussing the strange connection.

"Just wondering whether you would know we were under the Cloak…I mean you're the Marauders…and well, we just wanted to see how alert you are…aren't we getting late for the match, by the way? Let's go call Dora, Acquila," said Harry as he grabbed her hand and rushed out of the door, knowing he had been a pathetic liar.

"He hasn't inherited Jamie's skill of making up believable excuses, has he?" Sirius snorted as Remus chuckled dryly.

"You know why they were eavesdropping, don't you?" he asked the Animagus.

"Probably thought we were discussing the Bond," responded Sirius tersely.

"Let's leave for the stadium," said Remus. "We'll talk of this later. And I still think you should have a talk with Dumbledore before you decide on telling them."

"Teacher's pet," said Sirius, as he rolled his eyes, before following Remus.

**xxx**

The stadium was bigger than Harry had imagined it to be, and it was flooding with more people than he had ever seen in his life. There were many people wearing the navy blue of Puddlemere United and a few dressed in the bright orange of Chudley Cannons. Many fans were carrying banners too.

As they stood in the security line for the spectators having tickets for the top box, the crowd had started pointing, staring and waving at them. Harry even spotted one or two girls giving flying kisses in Sirius' direction, who completely ignored the attention.

"This is the first Quidditch match that we're watching outside of Hogwarts," Harry lamely stated the already known fact to take Acquila's attention away from the bunch of giggling witches, who were trying to sneak into their line.

"Yes," Acquila said distractedly as she still glared at the girls.

Luckily, their line was moving fast and they were past the security and into the stadium in no time, except for Harry. The security guard, who seemed to have been a fan of Harry, shook his hand for over a minute, calling Harry a hero, till Sirius politely rescued him.

Once they were in, they climbed their way to the top box which was completely empty, Sirius having bought all the tickets. Harry entered first and took a seat, Acquila sat next to him. But as Remus made to follow her, Sirius visibly shoved him sideways and took the seat next to Acquila so that Remus was forced to take the seat next to Sirius, with Dora finally plopping down on the seat next to Remus.

Sirius smirked at Remus, wiggling his eyebrows as he playfully gestured towards Nymphadora, as Remus just grimaced at him.

"You'll thank me for this one day," Sirius whispered to Remus as the game started.

"Good Afternoon, witches and wizards! Welcome to today's match between the Chudley Cannons and Puddlemere United-" said the commentator as the rest of his words got drowned in the loud cheers erupting from all the stands of the stadium.

"Sirius! I told you not to encourage this!" Remus whispered back, as Sirius feigned deafness, before whistling and clapping loudly as the commentator announced the names of the Puddlemere United players who flew out into the stadium, followed by the Chudley Cannon players.

"You're making this so awkward for me!" Remus glared at Sirius.

"I know," Sirius said winked at him, as Remus sighed loudly.

"So, Remus. Are you a Puddlemere supporter?" Nymphadora asked him, breaking the silence. Remus hadn't spoken much to her whenever she had been in Black Manor, and honestly, that made him even more of a mystery for her- a mystery that she was hell-bent on unraveling, including the reason for his sudden illness a few weeks ago.

"I was never a big fan of Quidditch," replied Remus, his eyes glued to the pitch to avoid looking at Nymphadora. "I preferred Wizarding Chess. But I am supporting Puddlemere today. I know enough about the Quidditch League to know that they are going to flatten the Cannons."

"Oh! I thought you would have liked Quidditch, since both Sirius and Harry's Dad were on the Gryffindor team," remarked Nymphadora.

"Watching them play was one of the reasons I decided never to take up Quidditch! The number of times I've escorted James and Sirius to the Hospital Wing to treat a broken leg or a head concussion… It's a little too violent for my tastes…" he trailed off.

Duncan Reynolds of Puddlemere United is racing towards the hoops with Quaffle in hand- deftly avoiding a Bulger from Joey Jenkins-and he throws the Quaffle-it goes past the keeper's head and through the middle hoop-and Puddlemere United score a goal!"

The crowd erupted in cheers and Nymphadora morphed her hair to match the navy blue colour of Puddlemere.

After half an hour, the excitement had died down as Puddlemere United were already 200 points ahead and it was pretty clear that Chudley Cannons would never catch up.

The match seemed quite boring to her, as the contest was extremely one-sided, though Harry and Acquila seemed to be enjoying it. Sirius kept throwing her encouraging and teasing glances, telling her to make the most of having got a chance to sit next to Remus, but the man in question seemed to have vowed to talk to Dora, only as much as required. And that only made her more determined to break through his reserved nature.

She let out an almost inaudible groan of frustration, not realising that Remus' keen ears had caught the sound. Remus looked at her rather guiltily from the corner of his eye. He knew that he had been rather cold to her; but he hadn't wanted to encourage her blossoming feelings for him. She was just eighteen! It was just a school girl crush. And he knew she would get over it soon; so he saw no need to encourage her by talking excessively with her. Plus, he knew that she had her suspicions about his 'illness' during the full-moon night. And though he knew that her budding affection for him would vanish on knowing that he was a werewolf, he hadn't wanted her to find out about the affliction and tell the kids, till he was ready to do so himself.

"How much longer do you think it'll take for the snitch to be caught?" she asked him suddenly, as Sirius, who had been glaring at him for the past few minutes nudged him with his elbow, encouraging him to talk.

"Why? Bored of my rather sullen company?" he asked her wryly.

"Not at all! I just can't wait to see Harry's expression when we get back to the Manor!" she grinned, her grin widening as Remus smiled fondly on thinking of Harry.

"And I really hope that the cake doesn't blow up like the one on my birthday last year. My mom wasn't happy as she had to Scourgify the entire house not happy…oh well, I am rambling…getting back to the party, I just hope Mopsy is dealing well with decorating the Manor …With Charlie's mum, my mum and Madame Longbottom together, I'm sure there are sparks flying," she smirked. "And by the way, I'll never get bored of your company, Remus," she continued mischievously. "Since I talk quite a lot, and you seem to be more of a listener than a talker, we make quite the pair, don't we?" she winked, as he muttered something incoherent, before blushing a light shade of red, which Nymphadora thought made him look even cuter, rather child-like, deviating from his usual serious demeanour.

"Charlie's mother?" he asked her by way of changing the topic. "You mean Molly, don't you? I've never met the Weasleys, apart from that day at the Hospital Wing…but I've heard quite a lot about them from the children. Molly seems to be quite a motherly lady, though; she sent Christmas gifts for Harry and Acquila when she hadn't even met them," he said.

"Oh yes. She's a wonderful lady! And her cooking's amazing…much, much better than my Mum's," Nymphadora snorted. "Though Mum's improved in the past few years…Dad tells me she had never even stepped into the kitchen before they got married, let alone learn to cook!"

Remus chuckled. "That sounds perfectly believable for a Black. Even Sirius here is pathetic at cooking! The first time he called us over for dinner when he shifted into the house he bought with the money his Uncle gave him, Prongs and I thought the house was on fire, judging from the amount of smoke emanating from the windows!"

"Oi!" protested Sirius, whose ears had been glued to the couple's conversation. "Not all of us can cook as well as you do, Mooney! And that was my very first attempt at cooking…you can't really blame me-"

"Oh! So you're a good cook, are you?" cut in Nymphadora.

"He's the best! You should taste the Muggle dishes he cooks, Nymphie! I'm sure Remus will be more than willing to whip up one of his specials for you!" winked Sirius, as Remus nodded embarrassedly.

"So, whom did you learn to cook Muggle food from?" asked Nymphadora.

"My mother," said Remus, his voice suddenly edged with softness. "When I was younger, Dad used to be out at work all day, and I didn't really have any friends till I went to Hogwarts because-" Remus stopped suddenly, he had just been about to mention his affliction.

"And well," he continued, "My Mother was Muggleborn and she and I used to be the only ones home all day, since I had no siblings. And so I used to keep flitting around Mother, especially when she cooked…and I caught onto a lot of Muggle recipes. And since I have a…a rather ravenous appetite on some days, I've learnt to whip up a lot of Muggle dishes," he said, his amber eyes seemed to have suddenly had a faraway glint in them, and Nymphadora realised that he was thinking of his mother.

"What was she like? Your mother?"

"She was the best friend I had, till I met Padfoot and the others. She used to work in a library till I was five…but she left her job to become a stay-at-home mother to me…she read me all kinds of stories…I think I inherited my love for reading from her…she was the one who taught me to play Chess. She even bought me my first broom and taught me to fly. And well, she sacrificed a lot for me. I used to…I used to fall ill quite often when I was younger. I wasn't exactly a healthy child…and any other woman in her place might have cursed her fate, and wallowed in pity for having a child like me. But she never once got bogged down by what I was… I mean, with my frequent bouts of illness. She was like a ray of sunshine, always smiling, always cheerful, always brightening up the lives of people around her…and she never let Dad and me get gloomy as well…" he trailed off, as Sirius gaped at him wide-eyed before looking away.

This was the first time he had heard Mooney talking of his parents since they had passed away. And as far as Sirius knew, the Marauders were the only people Remus had spoken to about his childhood. And though Sirius knew that he had perhaps mentioned all this to Nymphie because it must have been the first time in quite a while that someone had asked him about his mother; it still seemed a step in the right direction for bringing Nymphie and Mooney closer.

"So, the books that Sirius said you treasure more than most of your possessions belong to your mother, do they?" asked Nymphadora, wanting Remus to continue speaking.

"Oh yes. They _do _belong to my mother…but I wonder why Sirius told you that," said Remus, glaring at Sirius, as he snapped out of his reminiscent stupor. He flinched as he realised that he told Nymphadora a lot more about his childhood than he had intended to. It was just that nobody had asked him about his mother since years, and Nymphadora asking him about her had brought forth some long-subdued memories.

"I know you've never liked wizarding books, Nymphie. But Remmy can show you all his collection of Muggle books…you'll love them, especially the Sherlock guy. You like mysteries and crime fiction, don't you, Nymphie? You'll love the Sherlock Holmes ones! Why don't you take Nymphie around to your house, Remmy? She can have a look at your mini-library…and then maybe, you can take her out to the Muggle restaurant around the corner," winked Sirius.

"Why not?" responded Remus.

"You'll take her to your house?" gasped Sirius. He hadn't expected Remus to say yes. The house, which had been Remus' childhood home, was one where he let only a few selected people visit.

"No. I meant I would show her my books, since I've shifted them all to Black Manor for Acquila to read," smirked Remus, as Sirius groaned, while Nymphadora just smiled wryly. She hadn't expected Remus to agree to spend time with her this soon, even if it was just showing her his collection of books.

But she was Dora Tonks! And she never ever gave up. And after Remus had told her about his mysterious childhood illness, he seemed even more of an enigma to her. Sirius hadn't been wrong when he had said that she liked mystery and crime fiction. Nymphadora loved solving mysteries, getting to the root of puzzles, she loved the thrill that came from intricately disentangling all the tangled threads of a mystery. And Remus Lupin was a puzzle waiting to be unraveled.

"Puddlemere United scores another goal, the score is four hundred and sixty to twenty-" said the commentator in a bored, drawling voice, as Nymphadora looked at Remus again.

"Remus?"

"Hmm?"

"What did you work as? When you were in Ireland for a decade, I mean?"

"I worked at a Muggle library," he replied.

"Didn't you want to be an Auror? I mean both Sirius and Harry's Dad were Aurors, and Acquila tells me that you are excellent at combative dueling."

Sirius groaned slightly. This was one question that Nymphie shouldn't have asked Remus. Sirius knew how deep Remus' desire of wanting to be an Auror ran. And with the wizarding war having been at its height when they had passed out of Hogwarts, Remus had wanted to join the Auror Force as well, to do his part in fighting the Dark Forces. But since most Werewolves were allied with Voldemort, the Ministry had been firm against letting a Werewolf work in the Auror department; and Remus had been upset beyond words. Fighting for the Order of the Phoenix had helped assuage Remus' sense of anger and distress at being refused to be taken in the Auror department, despite good grades.

"I did want to be an Auror," admitted Remus. "But they wouldn't take me…I…I didn't fit the bill due to my frequent bouts of sickness. And well, now when I look back at it, I'm glad that it didn't work out. Since we've started training Harry and Acquila in magic, I've realised that more than fighting duels, I prefer teaching people…"

"Would you teach me as well? Someday? Siri tells me you're good at Charms, and Charms has never been my strong point…and I promise I'll be a good student," smiled Nymphadora earnestly, her hair changing into the same shade of pink that Sirius had turned Remus' hair that day.

"Why not? You can come over when we train with the kids. It'll help you in Auror training as well, I guess," said Remus after a long pause, smiling involuntarily on seeing Nymphadora smile brightly at his reply.

"You should smile more often, you know," said Nymphadora as suddenly, they saw the entire stadium erupt.

"Look! Look! I think he's spotted the snitch!" Harry's voice carried to them above the din, as both of them stood up to take a better look at the seeker; their conversation forgotten.

But Nymphadora continued smiling, glancing covertly at Remus in between her cheers. She had finally succeeded in making him smile! And if she had her way, she would ensure that the perennially serious wizard would smile much, much more often.

Harry had been tracking each and every move of all the players, especially both the seekers.

"Oh no!" he groaned as the snitch sped just out of reach of the Chudley Cannons' Seeker's hands, disappearing from sight again.

Harry had spotted the snitch twice earlier, once near the goal hoop and the second time it was fluttering next to a Chudley Cannons chaser, Drogomir Gorgovitch. But both the times the snitch had fluttered out of sight just before the seekers could catch it.

"If you'd been the Seeker, the game would have been over long ago!" said Acquila, as Harry pointed out the snitch again.  
Harry nodded distractedly. Though he had noticed Remus and Nymphadora looking rather bored at the one-sided match, Harry had enjoyed every second of it. Never had he seen players zoom around this fast. The pace at which the game was played was far, far faster than any game he had seen at Hogwarts. And this was a game with the weakest team in the League! He wondered how a game between two of the top-ranked teams would have aplyed out. Just as he was about to mention that to Acquila, he saw the Puddlemere United seeker, Benjy Williams twist his broom and fly straight towards the ground; the Chudley Cannons seeker, Galvin Gudgeon right behind him, gathering speed.

Harry climbed up on his chair as the whole stadium held their breath.

"He's going to catch it this time!" he exclaimed loudly, as Acquila and Sirius stood up as well, Acquila zooming in with her omniculars.

Benjy picked up speed as the ground raced up to meet him, while Galvin fell back. Just when it seemed as if Benjy would crash into the ground, he pulled up his broom, steadying himself he held up his arm which had a small fluttering snitch in it.

"That was great! Best catch ever!" Harry exclaimed as he jumped up and down and hugged Acquila in delight.

As they walked back to the end of the stadium to take the port-key, Harry felt that this had been one of the most fun-filled days he had had. Perhaps, this was how it was to have a birthday! The cake at midnight, the gifts, and now watching a real professional Quidditch match! As he saw Sirius and Acquila laughing over something, while Remus and Dora walked ahead, seemingly deep in talks, Harry realised that he was happier than he'd ever been; with all the people he loved by his side. This was the best birthday he could ever have asked for and the best part was, that it wasn't even over yet!

**xxx**

"Why's the Manor so dark?" Molly Weasley heard a voice that seemed to belong to Harry Potter ask, at the doorway to Black Manor.

The Weasleys, the Tonks and the Longbottoms, along with Hermione were waiting in the Manor to surprise Harry.

"Why don't you light the candles, Harry? You know the charm, don't you?" Molly heard another voice reply- Sirius' Black's voice if the charming lilt in it was to go by.

And Molly bristled angrily at that. How could the man blatantly encourage his Godson to break the laws against underage sorcery? Molly had reached the Manor with her kids almost an hour ago, hoping to help with the preparations for the party. But the house-elf hadn't even allowed her to enter the kitchen! Imagine that! A house-elf cooking for the growing kids who needed proper food- something that a loving mother should have done! And the house-elf was the only grown-up female figure in the house! How could Mopsy ever take care of all the needs of the two children, especially Harry Potter?

Of course, Arthur had told Molly that Andromeda Tonks visited the kids frequently. But on further questioning, Andromeda herself had told Molly that she visited the children only whenever she got time off her rather taxing job at St. Mungos. So the kids had no one to take care of them! No mother to tend to their wounds when they got injured (which Molly was sure happened frequently, thanks to having the wayward Sirius Black as their guardian); they had no one to share their emotions with, something that every child needed a mother for!

Her thoughts were swept to the back of her mind, when she saw Harry light up all the candles and the chandeliers magically in the vast room; only to have a wide grin on his face when everyone shouted, "Happy Birthday, Harry!"

The boy's green eyes seemed to glisten with uncontrollable happiness as his eyes took in the number of people gathered to celebrate his birthday.

"Did you plan all this, Sirius?" Ginny heard Harry Potter ask his Godfather.

"Acquila did, Harry. The rest of us just helped put her plan into action," Sirius smiled and Ginny saw Harry hug Acquila tightly, all the while saying something to her that Ginny couldn't hear. Ginny's happiness at seeing Harry seemed to have dampened slightly at that, but she kept looking at Harry as he walked through the people gathered there, accepting their wishes, and hugging Ron and Andromeda.

"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked Molly, as he walked towards her. He had never met her of course, but he seemed to have recognised her from her vivid red hair, and her children's resemblance to her.

"Yes, I'm Molly, Harry. Happy Birthday!" replied Molly, as she pulled the boy into a motherly hug. The boy seemed slightly awkward at being hugged by a relative stranger, but he seemed to settle into the hug a moment later, as he put his arms around Molly, before proceeding to thank her for the jumper she had sent him, along with thanks for having come for his birthday. He was such a polite boy! He probably got his politeness from his parents; because Black, after having spent a decade in Azkaban would have quite forgotten his manners, wouldn't he?

"This is my daughter, Ginny," said Molly as she introduced Ginny to Harry. "She's starting Hogwarts this year!"

Harry looked at the little red-haired girl, who was blushing; her face seeming as red as her hair.

"Uh…nice to meet you, Ginny," he said, holding out his hand to her, as he had seen Sirius do to people at the funeral. But to his bewilderment, the girl blushed even redder, till she finally shook Harry's hand, looking anywhere but at Harry.

"Happy Birthday," she said to him in a small voice, before holding out a card to him. "This…I made this for you…" she said, in an even smaller voice.

"Thank you so much!" he exclaimed, rather touched that she had made a card for him when she hadn't even met him before. "This means a lot to me, Ginny," he said; and to his utter puzzlement, she blushed even redder than he thought was possible, before flouncing off to one of the twins. What was wrong with the girl, thought Harry. Was she scared of him? But he had been polite to her, just as he seen Sirius act with strangers! And Harry truthfully told her that had been really touched at the card! So why had she run away?

As Ron came towards Harry, he whispered to him, "What's with your sister?"

"Oh, Ginny?" asked Ron, before guffawing loudly. "She's been fancying you since she was three, mate!" sniggered Ron, as Harry looked stunned for a moment, before wondering if Ron was joking.

"You're kidding, aren't you? I mean she hadn't even met me till today-"

"I'm not kidding, mate! I'm serious!" said Ron, as Harry stifled the urge to say, "No, my Godfather is Sirius!"

"She's grown up listening to stories about you defeating You Know Who. You don't know how weird it is for us to see her so shy…or generally she's always chattering. You've got an admirer, mate…someone fancying you! I reckon even Percy hasn't found a girl who likes him yet. And you've got girls fancying you at twelve," Ron chuckled, before Harry shut him up with a glare.

Ginny, meanwhile stood in a corner, still looking at Harry intermittently. He had spoken to her! She wanted to dance in delight. He had shook hands with her! And he had told her he loved her card! If the room was devoid of people, Ginny would certainly have been shouting her happiness out for the heavens to listen! She glanced around the room. The Manor was so huge! The house-elf had shown Ginny around the Manor, after she had requested her to, and Ginny had even caught a glimpse of Harry Potter's room! Ginny knew that her mother had wanted to call Harry to the Burrow to spend some time with them, and she wondered if Harry would like the Burrow when he lived in such a luxurious Manor, which even had a house-elf to serve him. Harry's room was even bigger than the drawing room of the Burrow! What if he didn't want to talk to Ginny any more if he saw where they lived? Ginny had always known that her parents hadn't had the galleons like other people did. But they had unconditional love and affection; and perhaps Harry Potter would care more about how people were from the inside, than the outside like most Heroes did.

Molly Weasley, meanwhile was talking to Sirius Black.

"So how has it been being a father to two children, Mister Black?"

"Please call me Sirius, Mrs. Weasley," he responded. "I've been doing my best. I'm trying to be friends with them first. I mean, they are both almost twelve; and with almost eleven years of having had no parents, I guess it's a little tough for them to suddenly have a father and a Godfather in their lives. I'm trying to get to know them better, get friendly with them…and things as of now are going well," he smiled at her.

"Call me Molly," she said. "But why would you want to be friends with them? They need a parental figure in their lives, especially Harry!"

"My parents never set a good example of parenting kids…you know that, don't you, Molly?" he asked her, knowing that Molly was related to him by marriage, and most pure-bloods knew what was happening in the others' lives. "And I'm doing my best with them…but I can't suddenly expect them to warm up to me and accept me as a father, can I? I did have some problems with Acquila in the beginning, but things are going well with her now. And as far as Harry is concerned, he's just like Jamie, I mean, James. And he's such a friendly boy…sometimes, I feel as if I've got my friend back," he smiled softly as he saw Harry talking to Ron.

"Oh, Molly, here you are," Arthur Weasley walked up to them. "Why don't you go talk to Madam Longbottom, Molly?"

"Oh, I spoke to her, Arthur, while we were waiting for Harry to come-"

"But she's looking for you. Go on, talk to her," said Arthur, ushering away his reluctant wife.

"I'm sorry if my wife said something she shouldn't have, Sirius," said Arthur, who had already spoken to Sirius earlier.

"Oh, of course not," he waved away his apologies as Arthur walked away. Why had Arthur thought that his wife would say something rude to Sirius? She had seemed a rather kindly woman to Sirius, going by how she had sent Harry and Acquila the jumpers for Christmas when she hadn't even met them. And Sirius had seen her greet Harry with a warm, motherly hug, much like someone like Dorea would have. Molly reminded him of Dorea in some ways… she had been so affectionate to Harry, just like Dorea had been to him; which was why he had been able to speak relatively freely with her about bringing up the kids. But had he perhaps spoken to her more than he should have? Why had she seemed suddenly cold towards him when he had mentioned wanting to be a friend to the kids before he went on with being a father to them?

A sudden huge figure coming in through the door captured Sirius' attention, diverting his thoughts.

"Hello, Hagrid! How are-" Sirius' words died in his throat as he saw the huge thing that stood next to Hagrid.

"That's my motorbike!" exclaimed Sirius delightedly.

"Did you see that, Harry? Acquila?" he asked the children happily.

"I brought it fer yeh, Sirius," said Hagrid. "Knew ye'd love to have it back. I'd kept it with me all these years! And happy bir'day to yeh, Harry!"

"Thank you, Hagrid!" said Harry as he took the gift from Hagrid, before the Giant gave him a friendly pat on his back, which had him almost falling onto the floor from the force of it, before a chuckling Remus steadied him to his feet.

"Isn't this the same bike on which Hagrid took Harry to the Dursleys, Dad?" asked Acquila, as she observed the bike curiously.

"Is this…is this a Muggle bike, Sirius?" asked an awed Arthur Weasley, while the twins put in, "Will you let us drive it once, Sirius?" as most of the assembled people gathered around the black motorbike.

"Of course you can, boys! If your parents don't mind," winked Sirius. He was sure Arthur Weasley wouldn't mind, as he seemed to be amazed by the bike.

"Want a ride, Acquila? Remember the time I told you of Jamie and me almost getting caught by the Muggle policemen?" exclaimed Sirius.

"You got caught by the Muggle _polis_? You mean the Muggle Law enforcement officers?" asked Molly, her voice high-pitched.

"Yes, Molly…we _almost_ got caught. We managed to get away though…no damage done!" smirked Sirius, before turning to Harry.

"Come on! Let's go for a ride, Jamie!" he exclaimed. "I…I mean, Harry," he said the moment he realised what he had said. Damn! Why had he called Harry 'Jamie?' The motorbike had brought forth many long-buried memories. And seeing a younger version of James standing next to him, had somehow made him address Harry as James again.

"Of course, Sirius! Come on!" said Harry, brushing off Sirius' misaddressing of him.

"Come on, kiddo! You too, Acquila! I don't know how to thank you for this, Hagrid! I thought I'd never see this beauty again," said Sirius, as he ran a hand over the shiny black bike.

"You can't take the kids on this!" shrieked Molly, as the twins, who were joking about who could drive the bike faster suddenly calmed down.

"It's safe, Molly! It's been charmed to fly safely…and it has the invisibility booster too-"

"Invisibility Booster? How did you install-" an excited Arthur fell silent at the look on his wife's face.

"Don't sit on that, Harry!" shrieked Molly again, as Harry made to put a leg up the bike.

"Why not, Mrs. Weasley?" asked Harry at the same time as Sirius asked, "Why, Molly?"

"Because Harry is not James, Sirius! He isn't your friend! He's your Godson! And the way you're bringing up the kids, teaching them to break rules, and to sit on life-threatening contraptions, they'll land up in prison like you did!" as the room fell into pin-drop silence, while Sirius had an inscrutable expression on his face.


End file.
